Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a significant influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however once it got included in the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and related lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band more money compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
