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It has been two decades after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, giving players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that someone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.

The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant impact on numerous musicians included, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.

“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – 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, everyone wanted to be in.”

He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”

Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans

Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”

At that time, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence

Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group greater revenue than any of their records. It sold well over half a million copies upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring nine months to accomplish.

“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.

The band previously wrapped up a successful tour before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller

Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.

Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.

Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first 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?

“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”