It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, however when it was included in the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record remained not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over half a million units upon release, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games 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 continue for future fans.”
