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Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.

The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant influence on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.

“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”

He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”

Timeless Music Gains a New Audience

Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the title young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”

At that time, the band's debut album was still not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence

Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band more money compared to their studio albums. It sold more than half a million copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring nine months of practice.

“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician 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 a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”

In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller

Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.

The majority installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.

Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following the classic?

“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”