Guitar Hero Celebrates 20 Years – How a Plastic Axe Connected Generations Between Music Fans

Marking two decades since the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.

Created by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.

Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant influence on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”

He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”

Classic Rock Finds a New Audience

Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, however when it was included in the game young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.

Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence

Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band more money than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 units upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.

The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took nine months of practice.

“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” says musician the artist.

The band had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.

Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar

The best marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.

Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.

Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?

“We thought those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”