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It has been two decades after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.

Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.

Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists included, introducing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.

“We rerecorded every song since the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”

He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”

Classic Rock Gains a New Audience

Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered outdated material, however once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music a new life.”

At that time, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.

Major Band Titles Enduring Impact

Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million units in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.

The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed it took nine months to accomplish.

“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”

Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller

The best marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.

Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.

Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, with set to be something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?

“Our team believed those games could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”