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It has been two decades after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing anyone who has mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.

Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.

Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.

A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.

“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”

He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Finds a New Audience

Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”

At that time, the band's first record remained unreleased stateside, meaning 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 were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact

Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” says musician the artist.

DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour when their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar

The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, 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 spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.

Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene active, with set to be something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?

“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”