Marking 20 years since the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered the epic 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 moving along the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once the game became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 units in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
