It has been 20 years after the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that someone who has nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo before a packed 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 mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series that had a significant impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for 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 Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, 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 offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, 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 Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought such titles might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
