It has been two decades since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however when it was included in the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene active, with expectations of something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
