It has been two decades after the legendary game hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a significant impact for many musicians included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, however once it got included in the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained not available stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community active, with set to be a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
