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Marking 20 years since the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.

Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic live show.

The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We reproduced all the music since the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – 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 were going up, all artists desired to be in.”

He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Gains a New Audience

Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, however once it got featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated label. It gave our catalog a new life.”

In 2008, the band's first record was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band during their 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 from Guitar Hero,” he notes.

Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact

Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group more money than any of their records. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.

The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, let alone played at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice of practice.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

The band previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed 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 eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.

Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar

The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.

The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.

Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?

“We thought such titles could be like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”