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It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, offering players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.

Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.

The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable impact for many musicians included, introducing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.

“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”

He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”

Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans

Northern Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however when it was featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact

Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months to accomplish.

“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.

The band had already 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 recall our distributors informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”

Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar

Top-tier promotion, 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? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.

Most installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.

Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”