Marking two decades after the legendary game debuted in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's nailed the epic lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a significant impact on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, however when it was included in the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
