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It has been two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.

Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series which made a significant impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”

He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans

Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was included in the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”

At that time, the Answer’s first record remained not available stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence

Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their records. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, and sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” says musician the artist.

DragonForce previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller

Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.

Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.

Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, with set to be something from the founders in development. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?

“We thought those games might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”