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Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.

Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.

The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant impact on numerous musicians included, showcasing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We rerecorded every song because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”

He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans

Northern Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”

At that time, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Major Band Titles Enduring Impact

Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their records. It sold more than 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.

The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took nine months of practice.

“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.

DragonForce previously completed a successful tour when their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

Enduring Legacy from the 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? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.

The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.

Games like the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene alive, with expectations of a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?

“We thought such titles might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”