Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour before their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“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 perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
