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Marking two decades since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that anyone who has nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.

Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.

The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant influence for many of the artists included, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.

A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We rerecorded every song because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”

He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans

Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered outdated material, but then when it was included in the game young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the band's first record was still not available in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.

Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence

Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group greater revenue compared to their records. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took months of practice of practice.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.

DragonForce had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”

In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.

Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller

The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.

The majority installments came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.

Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed those games might become like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”