Marking 20 years since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's nailed the epic lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians included, introducing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, however when it was featured on the game young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, 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 on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue than any of their records. It sold well over half a million units in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took months of practice 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,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
