Marking two decades since the legendary game debuted in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band greater revenue than any of their records. It sold well over half a million units upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
