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It has been two decades after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.

Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine live show.

Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence on numerous musicians included, introducing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”

He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”

Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans

Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave all our music a new life.”

In 2008, the band's debut album remained unreleased in the US, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.

Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence

Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million copies upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring nine months of practice.

“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.

The band previously wrapped up a successful tour before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”

Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar

The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.

The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.

Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following the classic?

“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”