Marking two decades after the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series which made a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group more money compared to their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for their songs rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already completed a successful tour before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments were released over a mere half-decade 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 died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“We thought such titles might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
