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Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.

Created by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.

Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.

“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”

He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Gains a New Audience

Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence

Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their studio albums. It sold well over half a million copies in its first week, while sales of their songs rose significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.

The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring 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 go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

The band previously wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember the record label informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar

Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.

Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.

Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?

“We thought those games might become like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”