It has been two decades since the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over half a million units upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“We thought such titles might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
