Guitar Hero creators Kai and Charles Huang

Guitar Hero, created by Kai Huang and Charles Huang, has redefined the rhythm game genre. Kai Huang is the man widely lauded as the person who thought up the idea for the Guitar Hero game. The Huang brothers are co-founders of RedOctane. (Before Guitar Hero, the company was known for DDR dance pads.)

The original Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II was a collaboration between Red Octane and Harmonix Music Systems. The success for Guitar Hero immediately took off. Miley Cyrus, My Chemical Romance, and Korn are known to be fans of Guitar Hero. In 2006, things changed for the two companies. Harmonix Music Systems was bought out by MTV Networks and went on to create rival game "Rock Band." Meanwhile, Red Octane was acquired by Activision and continued the franchise with Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

The Guitar hero brand continues with the recently released Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and Guitar Hero: On Tour for the Nintendo DS. Guitar Hero: Metallica will be available in 2009. Also expected later this year is Guitar Hero World Tour (formerly known as Guitar Hero IV). This game is expected to rival Rock Band with a drum set with cymbal interfaces and Guitar Hero Studio, where you can create your own music.

Watch Kai and Charles Huang talk about Guitar Hero: Aerosmith


Another interview with Kai and Charles Huang about Guitar Hero