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It has been two decades after the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Developed by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.

Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence for many of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.

“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”

He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Finds a New Audience

Northern Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, but then once it got included in the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”

In 2008, the band's first record was still unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.

Major Band Titles Enduring Impact

Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring nine months of practice.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

The band had already completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar

Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.

Most installments came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.

Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?

“We thought those games might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”