Marking 20 years since the legendary game first launched in North America, offering everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however once it got featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention played at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
