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Marking 20 years after the legendary game first launched in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.

Created by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.

Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant impact for many musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.

Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.

“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”

He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Finds a New Audience

Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, however when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”

At that time, the band's debut album was still unreleased in the US, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.

Major Band Titles Enduring Influence

Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band more money compared to their records. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.

The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

The band previously wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them 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 were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller

The best marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.

The majority installments came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.

Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun 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 Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”