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It has been 20 years since the legendary game first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has nailed the epic lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.

Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the screen in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.

Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series that had a significant impact for many of the artists featured, introducing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.

“We rerecorded every song because the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”

He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans

Irish group the Answer included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”

At that time, the band's debut album was still not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.

Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence

Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their records. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took months of practice of practice.

“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes musician the artist.

The band previously wrapped up a profitable run when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains 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 performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar

The best marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.

The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.

Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has entered work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following the classic?

“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”