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Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try convincing someone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.

Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.

A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.

“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”

He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans

Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, however once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the band's debut album was still unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence

Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million units upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months of practice.

“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.

The band had already completed a profitable run before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar

Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.

The majority installments were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring 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 several years later.

Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be something from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”