Guitar Hero III strums up $1 billion

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpotPosted Jan 12, 2009 1:00 pm PT

Activision touts 2007 game as first multiplatform console game to rack up nine digits in worldwide retail sales; series boasts 21 million song downloads.

Last January, then-independent publisher Activision announced that the Guitar Hero series--which it purchased in 2006 for nearly $100 million--had generated $1 billion in sales. This month, the now-half of Activision Blizzard announced that it has sold $1 billion worth of units of a single game in the rhythm-game franchise, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

Although Activision Blizzard's World of Warcraft has generated more than $1 billion in revenue thanks to its 11.5-million plus monthly subscriptions, Guitar Hero III is the first to reach nine-digit figure in worldwide retail sales alone. It was helped to the milestone by the game's various configurations, which included a la carte software and pricier guitar-peripheral bundles.

News of the $1 billion milestone first surfaced at last week's Consumer Electronics Show, when Activision publishing president Mike Griffiths mentioned the figure. According to UK-based Edge Magazine, Griffiths also revealed that to date, 21 million songs have been download through Guitar Hero games, 9 million less than the rival Rock Band series. The executive also reportedly said that more than 141,000 songs had been composed and uploaded via Guitar Hero World Tour, the new multi-instrument installment in the series.

120 Comments

  • Ozzie234

    Posted Mar 23, 2009 3:19 pm PT

    Gh1 and 2 was great on the ps2. But Gh2 on Xbox was even better, with the additional in-game songs and DLC. Then entered Gh3 -- in retrospect the best Guitar Hero game, with the best engine released to this day!! (allows for super hard songs + the somewhat lose hopo window is more like playing hopos on a guitar for real). Why did Activision/Neversoft go this (rock) band sh*t GHWT thingy?????

    Let the real forthcoming Gh4 be a continuation from Gh3!!

    Guitar Hero should be a GUITAR game. And a hard as hell one on expert level. You know -- real oldschool. The way we like it.

  • grlew

    Posted Jan 19, 2009 3:32 am PT

    Its official gimmicks sell the Wii, guitar hero need I go on

  • frogiggy323

    Posted Jan 18, 2009 9:27 pm PT

    Isn't that also with free downloads included? Rock band only includes purchased downloads.

  • Spartan_418

    Posted Jan 17, 2009 5:23 pm PT

    @keyser27 sorry to sound nitpicky, but the "insert # here" digits status refers to the number of zeros after the first digit in a number, not the total number of digits. Everyone does that- not just Gamespot. I million is always referred to as "six digits", despite "1,000,000" actually having 7.

  • keyser27

    Posted Jan 17, 2009 8:07 am PT

    @FFuematsafan

    Can't people realize that joining the Navy and trying to get into the SEALS is cheaper than playing SOCOM?

    Besides, I don't know where you got YOUR guitar, but if you spent under $200 for a guitar + amp you haven't played enough to put strings on it. Besides, you can't swing a dead cat in a bar without hitting 5 guitar players. Who cares? I'd rather listen to an idiot playing a halfway decent song and knowing it's just for fun than listen to some jerk fool around on a real guitar thinking they are any good. And at parties? They are NEVER any good, just think they are.

  • keyser27

    Posted Jan 17, 2009 7:54 am PT

    $1 billion in revenue thanks to its 11.5-million plus monthly subscriptions, Guitar Hero III is the first to reach nine-digit figure in worldwide retail sales alone.

    Uhm. 100 million is 9 digits. 1 Billion is a 1 + 9 zeroes. That would be 10. I guess if they were dumb enough to give GTA4 a 10, counting TO 10 may be out of their league as well.

  • coruscant

    Posted Jan 14, 2009 11:32 pm PT

    Bring back GH3 type guitar hero games, not band-centered ones or band games like world tour!

  • atarigrad

    Posted Jan 13, 2009 4:02 pm PT

    Do you guys know how to read, First off It was Guitar Hero III Legends of Rock not World Tour that sold 1 billion dollars in copies. Second For the joker who made the quote about Rock band not being around without guitar hero. Who do you think created Guitar Hero. Uh yea Harmonix who created Rock Band as well. I feel less intelligent for even having to explain this.

  • HelIWithoutSin

    Posted Jan 13, 2009 3:56 pm PT

    mikemaj82

    It's also moronic when people don't realize that Harmonix, the creators of Guitar Hero I, II, and Rocks the 80's, are also the creators of Rock Band 1 & 2.

  • Memoryitis

    Posted Jan 13, 2009 3:51 pm PT

    holy moly

  • DontEatCream

    Posted Jan 13, 2009 3:34 pm PT

    My gawd... one BILLION dollars.

    A few more of those, and Activison-Blizzard can buy their own Detroit-based car company. Zing!

  • okassar

    Posted Jan 13, 2009 2:59 pm PT

    Wow,turns out RB didn't come out on top after all...I still think RB and RB2 are better than GH:WT,I mean,not by a huge margin,but I like the songs,the notes,and the feel better you know.Oh well,both are fun games and serve their purpose.

  • Eat_My_Shorts35

    Posted Jan 13, 2009 1:39 pm PT

    @osiris and tx most wanted and cameron rules:
    they mean its the first to get to even 100,000,000 dollars, let alone 1,000,000,000

  • mikemaj82

    Posted Jan 13, 2009 1:38 pm PT

    It's so moronic how people are saying GH copied RB by allowing the use of drums and a mic. Hmmm...Rock Band wouldn't even exist if the first Guitar Hero never came out.

  • osiris

    Posted Jan 13, 2009 1:09 pm PT

    1,000,000,000 = 9 digits... supersmooth, haha

  • caleb_hill

    Posted Jan 13, 2009 1:05 pm PT

    it works great as a finger warm-up for real guitar

  • wiifan001

    Posted Jan 13, 2009 12:55 pm PT

    I got a copy and I don't regret it

  • cameronrules36

    Posted Jan 13, 2009 12:49 pm PT

    1,000,000,000 10 digits

  • TXMostWanted

    Posted Jan 13, 2009 12:37 pm PT

    9 Digit Figure...$1 billion dollars??? Someone needs to go back to school lol

  • patriots2871

    Posted Jan 13, 2009 12:35 pm PT

    great game

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