It has been two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's nailed the epic lengthy instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display in time with the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence for many musicians included, introducing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having 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 we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and related stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band more money compared to their records. It moved more than 500,000 units upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and enlist,” says musician the artist.
The band previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, with expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
