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Marking two decades after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.

Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.

The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, introducing classic bands to millions of younger players.

Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.

“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”

He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”

Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans

Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the title young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence

Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money compared to their records. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.

The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months of practice.

“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.

The band previously completed a profitable run when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.

Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller

Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.

The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.

Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?

“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”