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It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, offering players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.

Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic live show.

The studio had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of younger players.

A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”

He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Finds a New Audience

Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”

At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence

Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue compared to their records. It moved more than 500,000 units upon release, while demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took nine months to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

The band previously completed a successful tour when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”

Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.

Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar

The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.

Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.

Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”