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Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed crowd of friends.

Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.

The studio previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians included, introducing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.

Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.

“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”

He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”

Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans

Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the band's first record was still unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact

Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months of practice.

“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.

DragonForce had already completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, 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 Impact of a Iconic Controller

Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.

Most installments were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.

Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with set to be a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”