Marking 20 years since the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a significant influence for many musicians featured, introducing classic bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow 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 hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
