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Marking two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, offering everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.

Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic live show.

Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable influence for many musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.

“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”

He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans

Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”

At that time, the band's debut album was still unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.

Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact

Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units in its first week, while demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.

The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat 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 almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months to accomplish.

“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.

The band previously wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”

Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “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 a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller

Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.

Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.

Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, with set to be something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?

“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”