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It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, offering players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.

Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence for many musicians included, introducing classic bands to millions of younger players.

Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.

“We rerecorded all the music because the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”

He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Finds a New Audience

Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”

In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.

Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence

Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold well over half a million copies upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.

The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

DragonForce had already completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept 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”.

Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar

The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.

The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.

Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, with expectations of something from the founders in development. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?

“We thought those games could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”