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It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Created by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic performance.

The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, introducing classic bands to millions of younger players.

Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.

“We rerecorded all the music since the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”

He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Finds a New Audience

Northern Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, however once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.

Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence

Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes musician the artist.

The band previously wrapped up a successful tour when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”

Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.

Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller

The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.

Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.

Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?

“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”