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It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that someone who has nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.

Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.

Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a significant impact on numerous of the artists included, introducing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.

“We rerecorded every song since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”

He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”

Timeless Music Finds a New Audience

Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”

At that time, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence

Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money than any of their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 copies in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.

The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took months of practice to accomplish.

“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.

DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “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 has risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller

The best marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.

The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.

Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?

“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”