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Marking two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.

Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine live show.

Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.

“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”

He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Gains a New Audience

Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”

At that time, the Answer’s first record was still not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence

Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group more money compared to their records. It sold more than half a million units upon release, and sales of their songs rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took months of practice of practice.

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

The band previously completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”

In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar

Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.

Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.

Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?

“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”