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Marking two decades since the legendary game debuted in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine performance.

Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series which made a remarkable impact for many of the artists included, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.

“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”

He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Gains a New Audience

Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave all our music a new life.”

In 2008, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact

Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band more money than any of their records. It sold well over half a million copies upon release, while demand for their songs rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.

The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring months of practice of practice.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.

Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar

The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.

Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.

Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”