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Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.

Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.

The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a significant influence for many musicians included, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.

“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure 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 took off, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”

He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”

Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans

Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, however once it got featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”

At that time, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Major Band Titles Enduring Impact

Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring 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, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring nine months of practice.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.

DragonForce previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only 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”.

The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller

The best promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.

The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.

Games like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with set to be something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?

“We thought those games could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”