It has been two decades after the legendary game hit the market in North America, offering players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a significant impact on numerous of the artists included, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money than any of their records. It moved more than half a million copies upon release, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it risked overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel 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,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, 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 of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
