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Marking 20 years after the legendary game debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.

Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine live show.

The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant influence for many of the artists included, introducing decades-old 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 – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.

“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”

He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Gains a New Audience

Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music a new life.”

In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.

Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence

Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.

The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took nine months to accomplish.

“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.

DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar

Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.

Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.

Games like 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 work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?

“We thought such titles could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”