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It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, offering everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic performance.

Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians included, introducing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.

Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.

“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”

He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Finds a New Audience

Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however when it was included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”

At that time, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact

Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.

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

DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.

Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller

The best promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.

The majority installments were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.

Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community alive, with expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”