It has been two decades after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the display in time with the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant impact on numerous musicians included, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group greater revenue compared to their records. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a successful tour when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, with set to be something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
