Marking two decades after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, giving everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a significant influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, however when it was featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group more money than any of their records. It moved more than half a million units in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
