Marking 20 years after the legendary game first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series that had a remarkable influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band more money than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, with expectations of a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
