Marking two decades after the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact for many of the artists included, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game took off, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record remained not available stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue compared to their records. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already completed a profitable run before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene active, with expectations of something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
