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It has been two decades since the legendary game debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Not literally, but try telling that someone who has nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.

Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.

The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.

“We reproduced every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”

He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”

Classic Rock Finds a New Audience

Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”

At that time, the band's debut album was still unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.

Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact

Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their studio albums. It sold well over half a million units in its first week, and demand for their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.

The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months to accomplish.

“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.

The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”

Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar

The best marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. 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 installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.

Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, with set to be something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following the classic?

“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”