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Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.

Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.

Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant influence for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.

Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”

He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”

Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans

Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”

At that time, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact

Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, while demand for their songs rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.

The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.

“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

The band previously wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.

The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar

Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.

Most installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.

Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, with expectations of something from the founders in development. A new studio has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”