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Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.

Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic performance.

The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.

“We rerecorded all the music since the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”

He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Gains a New Audience

Northern Irish group one featured act included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”

At that time, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence

Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money compared to their records. It moved well over 500,000 units in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring nine months of practice.

“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

The band previously completed a profitable run when their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar

The best marketing, be it for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.

The majority installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.

Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?

“We thought such titles might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”