The Iconic Game Celebrates 20 Years – The Plastic Guitar That Connected Generations Between Music Generations

Marking two decades since the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.

Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine performance.

Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series that had a significant influence for many musicians included, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.

“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”

He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Finds a New Audience

Northern Irish group the Answer had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”

At that time, the band's debut album remained unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late 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 game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice of practice.

“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” says musician the artist.

The band had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.

Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar

The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.

Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.

Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?

“We thought such titles might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”