It has been 20 years after the legendary game debuted in North America, offering players everywhere the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the display in time with the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable influence for many musicians featured, showcasing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, however when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already completed a profitable run before their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, 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 Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought those games might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
