It has been two decades after the legendary game hit the market in North America, offering players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
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 mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a remarkable impact for many of the artists included, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, but then when it was included in the game young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money than any of their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, with expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
