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Marking two decades after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.

Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.

Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable influence for many musicians included, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.

Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.

“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”

He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans

Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however when it was included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Major Band Titles Enduring Impact

Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, and demand for their songs rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months of practice.

“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.

DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”

Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.

Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar

Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.

The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.

Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?

“We thought those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”