It has been 20 years since the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the means to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a significant influence for many of the artists featured, introducing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million units in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and enlist,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer 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 a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with set to be something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
