Guitar Hero Celebrates 20 Years – The Plastic Guitar That Bridged Generations Between Rock Generations

It has been two decades after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, 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 Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.

Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We reproduced every song because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”

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

Timeless Music Finds a New Audience

Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”

At that time, the Answer’s first record remained not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence

Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band greater revenue compared to their records. It sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.

The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention played at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took months of practice to accomplish.

“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician the artist.

DragonForce previously completed a profitable run when their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.

Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller

The best promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.

Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.

Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with expectations of a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has entered production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?

“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”