It has been two decades since the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant impact for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the game young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained not available in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold more than half a million copies upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
The band previously completed a successful tour when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, 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 shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
