Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series that had a significant impact for many of the artists included, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue than any of 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 when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” says musician the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
