Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series that had a remarkable influence for many of the artists included, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of 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 became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered outdated material, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 units upon release, and sales of their songs rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility 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. “In the past I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
