It has been two decades after the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, 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 dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, but then when it was included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, and demand for their songs rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” says musician the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run when their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
