Marking two decades after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of 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 screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, but then when it was included in the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record remained not available in the US, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, 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, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, and there’s set to be something from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
