It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once the game became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the game young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still unreleased in the US, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million copies upon release, and demand for their songs rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, with expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
