It has been two decades since the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”