The Iconic Game Celebrates 20 Years – How a Plastic Axe United Generations Among Music Generations

It has been two decades after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the tools to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.

Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.

The studio had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.

Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.

“We rerecorded all the music because the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”

He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans

Northern Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then when it was included in the game young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”

At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence

Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.

The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.

The band previously wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”

Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar

Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team 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 they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.

Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.

Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, with expectations of something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?

“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”