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Marking two decades after Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.

Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.

The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, 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, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.

“We reproduced all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”

He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans

Northern Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, however when it was included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”

At that time, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.

Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence

Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their records. It moved well over half a million units in its first week, and sales of their songs rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice of practice.

“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician the artist.

The band previously wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.

Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar

Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.

Most installments were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.

Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”