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Marking 20 years since the legendary game first launched in North America, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.

Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic live show.

The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a significant impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic bands to millions of younger players.

A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.

“We reproduced every song because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”

He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”

Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans

Northern Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence

Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over half a million copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months of practice.

“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

The band previously wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller

The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.

The majority installments were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, 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 scene alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”