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Marking two decades after the legendary game hit the market in North America, offering players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.

Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.

“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”

He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”

Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans

Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”

At that time, the band's debut album was still unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence

Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band more money compared to their records. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, and demand for their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.

The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”

Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar

The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.

Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.

Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?

“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”