Guitar Hero Celebrates 20 Years – The Plastic Guitar That United the Gap Between Music Fans

It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing anyone who has mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Created by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.

Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a significant impact on numerous musicians included, introducing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.

“We rerecorded every song because the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”

He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Timeless Music Finds a New Audience

Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained not available in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence

Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue compared to their records. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run before their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.

Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar

Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.

The majority installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.

Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?

“We thought those games could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”