Marking two decades after the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence on numerous of the artists included, introducing classic bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the title young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group greater revenue than any of their records. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, while demand for their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention played at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes 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 music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
