Marking two decades since the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant impact for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, however when it was included in the game young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money than any of their records. It sold well over half a million copies in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
