It has been two decades since the legendary game debuted in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence for many of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, however when it was included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names 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 rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 units upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s expectations of something from the founders in development. A new studio has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought such titles might become like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
