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Marking two decades since the legendary game debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.

Created by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.

The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series which made a significant impact on numerous musicians included, introducing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.

“We reproduced all the music since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”

He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans

Northern Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated label. It gave our catalog a new life.”

At that time, the band's first record remained not available in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence

Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, while demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone performed at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took nine months to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”

Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.

Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar

Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.

Most installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.

Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, with expectations of something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”