Marking 20 years after the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy 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 display synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a significant impact for many of the artists featured, introducing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, with expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
