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Marking two decades since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.

Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.

“We rerecorded all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”

He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”

Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans

Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then once it got included in the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”

At that time, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.

Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence

Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band more money compared to their records. It sold more than half a million copies upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.

“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician the artist.

The band previously wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar

The best marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.

The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.

Games like the fan project and newer releases have kept the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?

“We thought such titles might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”