Guitar Hero Celebrates 20 Years – The Plastic Guitar That Connected the Gap Among Music Generations

Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.

Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a significant impact on numerous musicians included, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”

He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”

Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans

Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however when it was included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the band's first record was still not available stateside, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact

Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their studio albums. It sold well over half a million copies in its first week, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.

Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.

The band had already completed a successful tour when their hit 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 the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar

The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being 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 participate”.

The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.

Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following the classic?

“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”