Guitar Hero at 20 – The Plastic Guitar That Connected the Gap Between Music Fans

Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.

The studio had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant impact for many musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.

“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”

He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Timeless Music Gains a New Audience

Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however when it was included in the game young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.

Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact

Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold more than half a million units upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician the artist.

The band had already wrapped up a profitable run before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “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”.

The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller

Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.

Most installments were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.

Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?

“We thought such titles might become like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”