Marking 20 years after the legendary game hit the market in North America, offering everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing classic bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, but then once it got included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money than any of their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
