Marking 20 years since the legendary game first launched in North America, offering players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing someone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the screen in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record remained unreleased in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their records. It moved more than half a million copies upon release, while demand for their songs saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and go to war,” 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 made them a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
