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It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, giving everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.

Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic live show.

Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series that had a significant impact for many musicians included, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We reproduced all the music since the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”

He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans

Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”

At that time, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact

Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice of practice.

“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.

The band had already completed a profitable run when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.

Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar

Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.

The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.

Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed those games might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”