It has been two decades since the legendary game debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence on numerous musicians included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group more money compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
