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It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the tools to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.

Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the screen in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.

Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a significant influence on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.

Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.

“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”

He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”

Classic Rock Finds a New Audience

Northern Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It provided our catalog a new life.”

At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact

Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.

The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.

DragonForce had already completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”

Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller

The best marketing, be it for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.

Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.

Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?

“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”