It has been two decades since the legendary game debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their records. It sold more than half a million units upon release, and demand for their songs rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene alive, with expectations of something from the founders in development. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
