It has been 20 years after the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that someone who has nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the game young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their records. It sold more than half a million copies upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, with set to be something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
