It has been two decades after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, offering players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered outdated material, however when it was included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “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
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene active, with set to be a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
