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It has been two decades since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine performance.

Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable influence for many musicians included, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.

Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.

“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”

He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans

Northern Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the game young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact

Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of their songs rose significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring nine months of practice.

“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.

DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller

Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.

The majority installments were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.

Titles like the fan project and newer releases have kept the community active, with set to be something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed those games could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”