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It has been 20 years since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.

Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine performance.

The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.

“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once the game became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”

He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Gains a New Audience

Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, however when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave all our music a new life.”

At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.

Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence

Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 units in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.

The series still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.

“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.

DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller

The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.

Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.

Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”