Guitar Hero Turns 20 – The Plastic Guitar That United the Gap Between Rock Generations

It has been 20 years after the legendary game debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.

Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine performance.

The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact for many of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.

Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”

He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Finds a New Audience

Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”

At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact

Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.

The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.

DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller

Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.

Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.

Games like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with expectations of a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?

“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”