 Guitar Hero was created from a partnership between RedOctane , then their own company that produced specialized video game controllers , and Harmonix , a music video game development company who had previously produced Frequency , Amplitude and Karaoke Revolution . RedOctane was seeking to bring in a Guitar Freaks @-@ like game , highly popular in Japan at the time , into Western markets , and approached Harmonix about helping them to develop a music game involving a guitar controller . Both companies agreed to it , and went on to produce Guitar Hero in 2005 . The title was highly successful , leading to the development of its successful sequel Guitar Hero II in 2006 . While the original controllers for the first Guitar Hero game were designed by Ryan Lesser , Rob Kay , Greg LoPiccolo and Alex Rigopulous of Harmonix and built by the Honeybee Corporation of China , subsequent iterations and future controllers were developed inhouse at RedOctane , with development led primarily by Jack McCauley . 
 Guitar Hero was created from a partnership between RedOctane , then their own company <a href='null_relcl' title='1'><mark>that</mark></a>produced specialized video game controllers , and Harmonix , a music video game development company <a href='null_relcl' title='2'><mark>who</mark></a><a href='been_done' title='3'><mark>had</mark></a> previously produced Frequency , Amplitude and Karaoke Revolution . RedOctane was seeking to bring in a Guitar Freaks @-@ like game , highly popular in Japan at the time , into Western markets , and approached Harmonix about helping them to develop a music game involving a guitar controller . Both companies agreed to it , and went on to produce Guitar Hero in 2005 . The title was highly successful , leading to the development of its successful sequel Guitar Hero II in 2006 . While the original controllers for the first Guitar Hero game <a href='uninflect' title='4'><mark>were</mark></a> designed by Ryan Lesser , Rob Kay , Greg LoPiccolo and Alex Rigopulous of Harmonix and built by the Honeybee Corporation of China , subsequent iterations and future controllers <a href='uninflect' title='5'><mark>were</mark></a> developed inhouse at RedOctane , with development led primarily by Jack McCauley . 
Guitar Hero was created from a partnership between RedOctane , then their own company produced specialized video game controllers , and Harmonix , a music video game development company done previously produced Frequency , Amplitude and Karaoke Revolution . RedOctane was seeking to bring in a Guitar Freaks @-@ like game , highly popular in Japan at the time , into Western markets , and approached Harmonix about helping them to develop a music game involving a guitar controller . Both companies agreed to it , and went on to produce Guitar Hero in 2005 . da title was highly successful , leading to tdadevelopment of its successful sequel Guitar Hero II in 2006 . While the original controllers for thdairst Guitar Hero game was designed by Ryan Lesser , Rob Kay , Greg LoPiccolo and Alex Rigopulous of Harmonix and built by thedaneybee Corporation of China , subsequent iterations and future controllers was developed inhouse at RedOctane , witt development led primarily by Jack McCauley .