It has been 20 years after the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the tools to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a remarkable influence for many musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag.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 Answer’s first record remained not available stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group more money than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most installments were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
