Marking two decades since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, but try convincing someone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant influence on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue compared to their records. It sold more than 500,000 units upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have kept the community alive, with expectations of something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
