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It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, offering players everywhere the tools to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who has mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.

The studio previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact for many of the artists included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.

“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”

He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans

Irish group the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact

Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money than any of their records. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.

The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.

“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller

The best promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.

Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.

Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene alive, and there’s set to be something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered production 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 Guitar Hero?

“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”