The "Guitar Hero" franchise helped lead a boom in music games, but prior to 2007 the series was exclusive to the PlayStation 2, limiting the game's reach. "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" was the first in the series to launch across all platforms, including PC and macOS, giving many the chance to play for the first time.
Though "Guitar Hero" can be played with a standard controller, the guitar controller became synonymous with the game. "Guitar Hero III" included a wireless guitar controller for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii, a big upgrade from the wired controllers that came with the previous PlayStation 2 games.