Marking two decades after Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the title young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group more money compared to their records. It sold more than 500,000 copies upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone performed at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with set to be something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
