It has been two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Not literally, but try convincing someone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant impact on numerous musicians included, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved well over 500,000 units in its first week, while demand for their songs rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention played at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs 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 brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like 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 begun production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
