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Marking two decades after the legendary game first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who's nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.

Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.

The studio 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 groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.

Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”

He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans

Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered outdated material, but then when it was included in the title young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”

In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence

Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their records. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.

The series still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero 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.

The band had already completed a successful tour when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.

Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar

The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.

The majority installments came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.

Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?

“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”