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Marking 20 years after the legendary game hit the market in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.

Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine performance.

The studio previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant influence for many of the artists featured, introducing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.

Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We reproduced all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”

He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Gains a New Audience

Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”

At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence

Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.

Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took nine months to accomplish.

“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.

The band had already wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar

The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.

Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.

Titles like the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”