Marking two decades after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the tools to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact for many musicians included, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the group during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring 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 gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
