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It has been two decades since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who has nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.

Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series that had a significant impact on numerous musicians included, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.

Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.

“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”

He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”

Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans

Irish group one featured act included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was 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, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained not available stateside, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence

Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies upon release, and demand for their songs rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.

“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.

The band had already wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to 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”.

Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar

Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.

The majority installments came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.

Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered production on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?

“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”