It has been two decades after Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that someone who has nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable impact for many musicians included, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their records. It sold more than 500,000 units in its first week, and sales of their songs rose significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
