It has been 20 years since the legendary game debuted in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a remarkable influence for many musicians included, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
