It has been two decades after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, offering players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant impact on numerous musicians included, showcasing classic bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game took off, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, however when it was featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 copies in its first week, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention played at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already completed a successful tour when their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered work 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?
“We thought such titles might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
