Marking 20 years since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant influence for many of the artists included, introducing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
