Marking two decades after the legendary game first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue compared to their records. It sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week, while demand for their songs rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s expectations of something from the founders in development. A new studio has entered work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
