It has been two decades after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a remarkable impact for many of the artists included, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however once it got featured on the game young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their records. It sold more than half a million copies in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention played at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band 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 informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, with set to be something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
