It has been two decades since the legendary game first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who has mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact on numerous musicians included, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish group one featured act included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It sold well over half a million units upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“We thought those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
