Guitar Hero at 20 – The Plastic Guitar That Connected Generations Between Music Generations
Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing players everywhere the tools to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence for many of the artists featured, introducing classic bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered outdated material, however when it was included in the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’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 each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, with expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become like Madden 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 persist for future fans.”
