It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant impact for many musicians included, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group 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 thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band greater revenue compared to their records. It sold more than 500,000 copies upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – 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 rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
