Guitar Hero at 20 – The Plastic Guitar That Bridged Generations Between Rock Generations
Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the tools to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant influence for many musicians featured, introducing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, but then when it was included in the title young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has begun work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”