It has been 20 years since the legendary game first launched in North America, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable influence for many musicians included, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated label. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group more money than any of their records. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult even in expert mode, let alone performed at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, with expectations of something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
