It has been 20 years since the legendary game hit the market in North America, offering players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has nailed the epic lengthy instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish group one featured act included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record was still not available stateside, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band more money compared to their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
