Marking two decades since the legendary game debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, however when it was included in the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record was still not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million units upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention played at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
