Guitar Hero at 20 – The Plastic Guitar That United Generations Among Rock Fans

It has been two decades since the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.

Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine performance.

The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.

Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.

“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”

He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans

Irish group one featured act included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave all our music a new life.”

At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact

Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months of practice.

“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.

DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller

Top-tier 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 aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.

Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.

Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following the classic?

“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”