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It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.

Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.

The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable influence for many musicians included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.

“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”

He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Finds a New Audience

Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, however when it was featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”

In 2008, the band's first record was still not available in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact

Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.

The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.

DragonForce had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.

Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller

The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.

Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.

Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community active, with set to be something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?

“We thought those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”