It has been two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series which made a significant influence for many musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, with expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
Eva de Vries is a passionate book lover and local writer from Eindhoven.
