Guitar Hero Celebrates 20 Years – The Plastic Guitar That Bridged the Gap Among Rock Fans

Marking two decades after Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.

Created by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.

Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a significant influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.

Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.

“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”

He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”

Classic Rock Gains a New Audience

Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the band's first record remained not available in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Major Band Titles Enduring Impact

Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group greater revenue compared to their records. It sold well over half a million copies upon release, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took nine months of practice.

“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

DragonForce previously completed a successful tour when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar

The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.

The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.

Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, with set to be something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?

“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”