Guitar Hero Turns 20 – The Plastic Guitar That Connected the Gap Between Music Generations

It has been two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.

Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine performance.

The studio had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a remarkable influence for many musicians featured, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.

“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”

He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Timeless Music Gains a New Audience

Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”

At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the group during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact

Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money than any of their records. It moved more than half a million units in its first week, and demand for their songs rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt 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 freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring nine months to accomplish.

“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.

The band had already wrapped up a profitable run 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 selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”

In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.

Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar

The best marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.

The majority installments were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.

Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?

“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”