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It has been 20 years since the legendary game debuted in North America, offering players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.

Created by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.

Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.

Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.

“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having 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 pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”

He continues: “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 a multigenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans

Northern Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”

At that time, the band's first record remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.

Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence

Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related 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 sold more than 500,000 units upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.

The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician the artist.

The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.

The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar

Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.

The majority installments came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.

Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”