It has been 20 years since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant impact on numerous musicians included, showcasing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, but then once it got included in the game young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money than any of their records. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician the artist.
The band previously wrapped up a profitable run when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, 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 kept the scene alive, with expectations of something from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“We thought those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
