It has been two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, giving everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic 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. Every sequence corresponded to 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 the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series that had a remarkable influence for many of the artists included, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, however when it was included in the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention played at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered work on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
