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It has been two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.

Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.

The studio previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant impact on numerous of the artists featured, introducing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.

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

“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”

He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans

Northern Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the band's first record remained unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.

Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact

Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group greater revenue than any of their records. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.

Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.

“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

The band had already completed a profitable run when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”

Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.

Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar

The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.

Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.

Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”