Marking 20 years since the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, but try convincing anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series which made a significant impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, however when it was included in the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like 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, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of their songs rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
