It has been two decades after the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved well over half a million units upon release, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
