Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists included, introducing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, however once it got featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 copies in its first week, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, 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’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
