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It has been two decades after the legendary game first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed 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 a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.

Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a remarkable influence on numerous musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.

A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.

“We reproduced every song since the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”

He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Gains a New Audience

Northern Irish group the Answer had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however when it was featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”

In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available in the US, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence

Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group more money than any of their records. It sold well over half a million copies upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.

The series still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.

“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

The band had already completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”

In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar

The best promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being 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 leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.

The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.

Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?

“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”