Marking 20 years since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Created 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 corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however once it got included in the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million units in its first week, and sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past 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 their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
