It has been two decades after the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention played at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a profitable run before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“We thought those games could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
