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Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.

Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic live show.

Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up 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 of the artists featured, introducing classic groups to millions of younger players.

A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “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 we were fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”

He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Finds a New Audience

Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, but then once it got included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact

Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.

Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took nine months to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”

In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey 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 automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being 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 use technology to enable everyone to do it”.

Most installments were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.

Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?

“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”