Marking 20 years since the legendary game debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant influence on numerous musicians included, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – 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 were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their records. It sold more than 500,000 units in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed 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 recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
