Marking two decades since the legendary game debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series which made a significant impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, however once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their records. It sold more than 500,000 units upon release, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember the record label informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
