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Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.

Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic performance.

Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a significant impact for many musicians featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.

Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.

“We reproduced all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”

He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans

Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”

In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available in the US, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence

Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than half a million units in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.

The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

The band previously completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.

Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar

The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.

Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.

Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?

“We thought such titles might become like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”