Marking two decades since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that someone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however once it got included in the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, 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 nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden where you can 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 for future fans.”
