Marking two decades after Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series that had a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, however once it got featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record was still not available stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It sold well over 500,000 units upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene alive, with set to be something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
