It has been two decades since the legendary game first launched in North America, offering everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant impact for many of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered outdated material, but then once it got included in the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as 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. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
