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It has been two decades after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.

Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.

Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a significant impact for many musicians included, introducing classic bands to millions of younger players.

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

“We reproduced every song because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”

He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans

Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave all our music a new life.”

At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.

Major Band Titles Enduring Influence

Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group more money than any of their records. It sold more than half a million copies in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.

The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice of practice.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.

Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar

The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.

The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.

Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, with set to be a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”