It has been 20 years since the legendary game debuted in North America, giving players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence on numerous musicians included, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained not available stateside, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, while demand for their songs rose significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
