Marking two decades since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the tools to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a significant influence on numerous musicians included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however once it got included in the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track 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 hear a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with expectations of something from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
