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Marking 20 years since the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.

Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.

The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a remarkable influence on numerous musicians included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.

A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.

“We reproduced all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”

He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”

Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans

Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”

At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact

Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million copies upon release, while demand for their songs rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.

The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat 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 almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice of practice.

“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

The band had already wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, 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. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar

The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.

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

Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”