Marking 20 years after the legendary game first launched in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that someone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant influence for many of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
