Marking two decades since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record remained not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue compared to their records. It sold well over half a million copies in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
