It has been 20 years after the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the tools to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, while demand for their songs rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
