It has been 20 years since the legendary game debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a remarkable influence for many musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 units in its first week, while demand for their songs rose significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour before 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 we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “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 their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, with expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
