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Marking 20 years since the legendary game first launched in North America, offering players everywhere the tools to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who has nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine live show.

Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.

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

“We rerecorded all the music since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”

He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Finds a New Audience

Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, but then once it got included in the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music a new life.”

At that time, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the band during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Major Band Titles Enduring Influence

Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group more money than any of their studio albums. It moved more than half a million units in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.

Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice of practice.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

The band previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”

Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only hear 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”.

Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller

The best promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.

Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.

Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?

“We thought those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”