Guitar Hero Celebrates 20 Years – How a Plastic Axe Bridged the Gap Among Music Generations

It has been two decades since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.

Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.

The studio had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence for many of the artists included, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.

“We reproduced all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”

He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Gains a New Audience

Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”

In 2008, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence

Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 copies in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.

Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

The band had already completed a profitable run when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”

Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller

The best marketing, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.

The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.

Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?

“We thought such titles could be like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”