It has been two decades after the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a remarkable influence for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 copies in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
