It has been 20 years after the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered outdated material, however when it was included in the title young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million copies in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero 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 co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most installments were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with 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 Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, with expectations of something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“We thought 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 optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
