It has been two decades after the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Not literally, but try telling that someone who's nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series which made a remarkable influence on numerous musicians included, introducing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved well over half a million units in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run when their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from 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 on the way. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
