Marking 20 years since the legendary game hit the market in North America, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, however once it got featured on the title young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated label. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 copies in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, with set to be a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
