Marking 20 years after the legendary game hit the market in North America, providing players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists included, introducing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group greater revenue than any of their records. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, while demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up 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 our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, 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 such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community active, with set to be a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”