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It has been two decades since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.

Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.

The studio had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a significant impact for many of the artists included, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”

He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”

Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans

Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then when it was included in the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the outdated label. It gave all our music a new life.”

At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence

Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of their songs rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months to accomplish.

“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician the artist.

The band had already completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”

In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller

The best promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.

Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, 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 like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”