Marking two decades after the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, introducing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group more money compared to their records. It sold well over half a million copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, with expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered production on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought those games might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
