Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence on numerous of the artists featured, introducing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane 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 adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however when it was included in the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money compared to their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 units in its first week, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, with set to be something from the founders in development. A new studio has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
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