It has been 20 years since the legendary game hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant impact for many musicians included, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure 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, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered outdated material, however when it was featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased in the US, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band more money than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, while demand for their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
