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It has been two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, offering players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.

Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.

Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.

Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.

“We reproduced all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”

He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Finds a New Audience

Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, however when it was included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”

At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased in the US, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.

Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact

Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group more money than any of their records. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.

Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.

“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour when their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”

In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.

The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar

Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.

Most installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.

Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, with set to be something from the founders in development. A new studio has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?

“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”