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It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.

Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.

Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable influence for many of the artists included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.

“We reproduced all the music since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”

He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Timeless Music Gains a New Audience

Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave all our music a new life.”

At that time, the band's first record remained not available stateside, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact

Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.

The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and go to war,” says musician the artist.

DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, 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 threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller

The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.

The majority installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.

Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene alive, with expectations of a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?

“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”