It has been two decades after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the means to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant impact on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
