Marking two decades since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered outdated material, however when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour before their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
