Marking two decades after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, however when it was featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still not available in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band more money compared to their records. It sold well over 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered work on their first music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
