It has been two decades after the legendary game debuted in North America, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a significant influence for many musicians included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however once it got featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour when their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, and there’s set to be something from the founders in development. A new studio has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
