It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a significant influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – 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 were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo 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 Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, with expectations of a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
