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Marking two decades after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, giving players everywhere the tools to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.

Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.

The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series which made a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, introducing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.

“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”

He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”

Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans

Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the game young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still not available stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact

Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue than any of their records. It moved well over 500,000 units in its first week, while demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.

The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took nine months of practice.

“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.

DragonForce had already completed a profitable run when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”

Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.

Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar

The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “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 felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.

The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.

Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, with set to be something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?

“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”