The first Guitar Hero game was released in 2005.
The original Guitar Hero launched for the PlayStation 2 in North America in November 2005. It was developed by Harmonix and published by RedOctane, whose guitar-shaped controller was central to the game’s design. European and Australian releases followed in 2006, which sometimes causes the year to be reported incorrectly when regional dates are mistaken for the original launch.
Guitar Hero turned a conventional game controller into a five-button rhythm instrument. Players matched colored notes on screen while using a strum bar, creating the sensation of performing recognizable rock songs without needing to play a real guitar. The concept drew inspiration from Konami’s Japanese arcade game GuitarFreaks.
The first game’s unexpected success led to Guitar Hero II in 2006 and eventually a major rhythm-game boom. Later installments expanded to other consoles, added band instruments, and introduced more complex features. Activision acquired RedOctane in 2006, while Harmonix moved on after developing the early entries and later created the Rock Band series.