Marking two decades since the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Not literally, but try convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant influence for many of the artists featured, introducing classic bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, however when it was featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained not available in the US, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 units upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour when their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
