I held a Guitar Hero 'guitar' for the first time last night. It was my nephew's, I was at his birthday party, a bunch of us were plopped on a couch watching football, and he was holding it ... probably dreaming of the minute all of us left, so he could resume playing this phenomally popular video game. How popular? Well, Activision announced today that its Guitar Hero franchise has set an industry record, surpassing $1 billion in retail sales in just 26 months, according to the NPD Group.
Additionally, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock was the #1 title in units and dollars for 2007, making it the best-selling video game of all time in a single calendar year. Since its initial release in fall 2005, NPD says the Guitar Hero franchise has sold more than 14 million units in North America alone.
“Guitar Hero is one of the biggest brands and one of the most powerful distribution platforms in all of entertainment today,” said Michael Griffith, President and Chief Executive Officer, Activision Publishing, Inc. “Guitar Hero’s popularity with broad audiences is a confirmation that video games have become a true mass medium.”
My nephew gave me a brief tutorial, describing how the game enables you to follow along with your mini guitar, hitting colored buttons on the fret that correspond to colored notes that scroll down the screen as a rock concert unfolds before your eyes. So basically, you get to pretend you're Slash, for instance, or some other rock guitar legend. Jimi Hendrix. Just don't light the thing on fire. It's the modern, souped up version of 'air guitar', and plenty of people are chunking out money to play.
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