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Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.

Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine performance.

The studio previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series which made a remarkable influence for many musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.

A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We rerecorded all the music since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”

He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans

Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided all our music a new life.”

At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact

Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.

The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.

“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.

The band had already completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar

Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.

Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.

Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”