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It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not literally, but try telling that someone who has nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.

Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant impact for many of the artists featured, introducing classic groups to millions of younger players.

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

“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”

He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans

Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, however when it was featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided our catalog a new life.”

At that time, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact

Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.

The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.

“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember the record label informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar

The best promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.

The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including 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 brief comeback in 2015.

Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun production 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 those games might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”