It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game took off, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record remained unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million units upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, 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 something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
