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Marking 20 years after the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.

Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.

The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact for many of the artists included, showcasing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.

Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.

“We reproduced every song since the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”

He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans

Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, however once it got featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”

At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence

Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.

“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician the artist.

DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”

Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar

The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond 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. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.

Most installments were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.

Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, and there’s set to be something from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?

“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”