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Marking 20 years after the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.

Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.

The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant impact on numerous of the artists included, showcasing classic bands to millions of younger players.

A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.

“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”

He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans

Northern Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”

At that time, the Answer’s first record remained not available stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.

Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence

Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.

The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice to accomplish.

“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

The band had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”

Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar

Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.

The majority installments were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.

Titles like the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?

“We thought those games might become like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”