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Marking 20 years after the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing anyone who's nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine live show.

Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We rerecorded every song because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”

He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans

Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music a new life.”

At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.

Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence

Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue compared to their records. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.

The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.

The band previously completed a successful tour before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.

Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar

The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.

The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.

Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”