Guitar Hero III makes $115 million in first week

by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 6th 2007 at 3:27PM }

Piggybacking on the information that Activision is going to have a record quarter and Guitar Hero III may be in short supply this holiday, Activision released some financial numbers that show how popular their game is. Activision says that GHIII sold over $115 million in its first week, making it the best launch in the company's history.

Activision believes they'll continue to do well against EA and MTV's Rock Band due to their "unparalleled number of music tracks, a highly competitive price point and the only game in its genre available worldwide." Although, much like the console war, we're thinking the music genre showdown between Rock Band and Guitar Hero won't be answered until years from now -- and there's always the possibility of peaceful coexistence.

Tags: business, gh3, ghIII, money

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Sentry Gun (Jesus) @ Nov 6th 2007 3:32PM

it could've made $200 million if they kept Clive Winston in the game :'(

3cubed minus 3squared plus1 @ Nov 6th 2007 3:34PM

I heard the Wii version was the second best selling one behind the 360 version.
IS this true or did I hear wrong?

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Nov 6th 2007 4:22PM

That really doesn't suprise me (if true) since the Wii audience is about the same size as the 360 audience, which is twice as large as the PS3 audience.

CubeGuy @ Nov 6th 2007 4:22PM

I would imagine it'd be that or the PS2 version.

deaftly @ Nov 6th 2007 5:18PM

i would think it would go like this because the 360 version was sold out everywhere and all the store i went to had tons of wii/ps3 versions

1.360
2.ps2
3.wii
4.ps3

rcf1105 @ Nov 6th 2007 3:39PM

I'm a long time guitar hero fan and I think that Neversoft really nailed it with this one. Sure, it's not perfect, but it's still a blast to play, and the track list is better than Guitar Hero II's, in my opinion (Cliffs of Dover is the best song out of all the guitar hero games).

Shmil @ Nov 6th 2007 3:54PM

cliffs of dover +1

jsn @ Nov 6th 2007 5:57PM

I disagree completely. Gh3 has some great songs, but it's got some fluff. AFI and the killers are the last thing I'd associate with guitar hero. I can only assume that their labels paid to have them included. the songs aren't tracked nearly as well either. While I like the game and it's fun, it's just not as good as gh2 overall.

XanthouS @ Nov 6th 2007 3:46PM

Oooh Activision, enjoy riding Harmonix's coattails while it lasts. Innovation will do you in soon enough.

syco @ Nov 6th 2007 3:53PM

Because DDR is a total flop now, what with it having not changed much in 9 years.

Oh, wait.

Music genres aren't exactly subject to the same requirement for constant innovation as other genres, because you can take the exact same game, change the songs, and sell millions of copies.

XanthouS @ Nov 6th 2007 3:59PM

Has another company brought a more complete dance experience to the table since DRR was introduced?

Sure, you can keep releasing the same game with new songs, provided the original developers don't redefine the genre and turn a single player (and sometimes two player) game into a full band experience.

megaStryke @ Nov 6th 2007 4:44PM

Yes. It's called "Pump It Up". A more intuitive dance mat and more fluid dance steps did not elevate it beyond or even close to DDR popularity.

XanthouS @ Nov 6th 2007 4:50PM

Was "Pump it Up" created by the same brilliant team who designed DDR from the ground up?

syco @ Nov 6th 2007 5:03PM

I'm not saying Rock Band isn't going to be more popular than GH. I mean, that would be ridiculous, of course. I'm saying they're different games, or rather Rock Band is GH + Karokey Revolution + a drumming game. Of course that is going to be wildly popular.

megaStryke @ Nov 6th 2007 7:39PM

XanthouS, you asked me if another company made a superior version of DDR and I dropped Pump It Up on your doorstop, designed by the Korean company Andamiro. Then you are curious if the SAME TEAM who made DDR made PIU? Like it makes a difference! It doesn't matter WHO made what. The fact is that PIU is a more challenging, more fluid, more intuitive game that offers a much wider selection of musical genres beyond DDR's house, techno, and trance fare. That's all that matters.

sheppy2.0 @ Nov 6th 2007 11:43PM

Woot! megastryke representing Banya like a mother up in here.

"Excuse me, misses, I got tender kisses for you. Even though your punnany be stinking like fishes and after that y'all, I don't even mind your sarcastic attitude. But that don't mean I don't get mad at you."

I really wish Kiss and Run To You weren't out of all the local PIU machines anymore. I also miss Disco Bus for some reason. Well, anyway...

XanthouS,

Activision would have done much better IMO if they DIDN'T try to "innovate." Quotation marks noticable since the only real innovation Neversoft brought to the table was stealing the Battle Mode from Pump It Up. Not that the Battle Mode in Pump It Up was any good, it wasn't, but that's where it came from. If Guitar Hero III would have stayed with an E for Everyone shell (aka, no strippers with Axe commercials on their tits) and just delivered a new roster of songs, I wouldn't be annoyed. But in their attempt to try and differentiate themselves with this iteration, they managed to make the series no longer appealing to me.

Also, in the whole DDR vs. PIU this, Mega has it right. DDR is for technical players. Strict scoring and it's ONLY about step accuracy. Spinning is excessively difficult in DDR as the very nature of the pad doesn't encourage it and all the veterans there are more obsessed with Perfect Attack competitions. Not to mention the song selection, aside from songs brought from other benami series, namely Beatmania, remains a tad too childish and sugarpopish.

PIU on the other hand has the cross shaped pad which not only gives players a much better initial balancing stance to work from, but the steps not only support spinning but practically encourage it. In fact, when I played DDR and PIU, freestyling on DDR was a chore. On PIU, it's a game about fun and the fun you can have just pulling off silly moves. PIU also has the far superior song selection and unlike Konami who loves giving their artists tons of names, they don't hide the fact that all their in house music is by Banya. PIU also has the unique feature in how even beginners can enjoy a bonus round as A ranking all three songs gives you your bonus so they reward beginning gamers AND players are able to to chose between single pad (normal, hard, crazy) and double pad (freestyle, nightmare) songs without having to pay for both sides.

In other words, Andamira delivered a far superior product to DDR just as Pentavision has delivered a superior product to Beatmania. But PIU will forever be recognized only as "that stupid DDR ripoff game" by the DDR elitist. And that's cool by me, actually. Because while their crowding around In The Groove 2 and DDR at the Union, I can walk up and play PIU with ease or wait my turn from the small following that game has gathered.

By the way, mega.... can you beat Join The Party on Crazy? I need some step guides or something, needing to keep the center down kills me everytime.

megaStryke @ Nov 7th 2007 10:54AM

Are you kidding? I suck to HIGH HEAVEN at PIU! I've only rarely played it, as well. I do recognize, however, it's quality over DDR.

As for Guitar Hero, I don't know where that "E for Everyone" thing popped up out of since all Guitar Hero games have had the teen rating. I'll also give you that the in-game advertisement was quite a bit less subtle third time around, but I think that is offset by some of the other touches to the game like the animated segments between tiers in career mode. Also, as shitty as Battle Mode is, you only have to do it three times during the career, and the only time it really causes any serious problems is during the Slash battle. Tom Morello and Lou are pussies.

Kaioh @ Nov 6th 2007 3:46PM

Yeah, the only game like it worldwide. Because, you know, Konami only created Guitar Freaks back in the late 90's.

Way to do your PR homework, Activision.

XanthouS @ Nov 6th 2007 3:50PM

That PR tripe was an attempted strike against Rock Band. Because of manufacturing constraints RB is only releasing in North America in 2007, followed by an early 2008 release in Europe and Australia.

Sorry to burst your bubble =\

Shockgamer @ Nov 6th 2007 3:52PM

It's not Activision or Harmonix's fault that Konami slept on a golden opportunity. America was right there for the taking, but Konami fumbled the ball.

Oh well, I'd rather have Guitar Hero and Rock Band, rather than Guitar Freaks with its three notes and obscure J-pop tracks.

Neon Jebus @ Nov 6th 2007 3:51PM

Oh dear lord was that a nod to Wicked Alexander?

White Rose Duelist @ Nov 7th 2007 6:50AM

Yup. +1 for caption.

FrankTheCrank @ Nov 6th 2007 3:51PM

Yeah, co-exist...like Rock Band is the ugly read headed step brother of Guitar Hero.

XanthouS @ Nov 6th 2007 3:56PM

Hah. What, exactly, is ugly about Rock Band compared to Guitar Hero? Please, enlighten me.

Surely it isn't the motion capture. Or the character models. Or the venues. Or the GUI.

Check out the new videos on Rock Band's website. If you can't see the steps forward Harmonix has taken the rhythm genre, you're a tool.

Sean D. @ Nov 6th 2007 4:22PM

XanthouS,

"Ugly redheaded step [brother]" is a misuse of a common American colloquialism (normally "stepchild") which I usually take to mean "neglected" or "abused," although I think it can also be used to mean "undeserved."

Either way, I'm pretty sure FrankTheCrank was using a linguistic device that we Americans call "sarcasm" in this case, and was not referring to the appearance of Rock Band at all.

Can't we all just get along?

deaftly @ Nov 6th 2007 5:21PM

Frank a tool? Get outta town!

SwampFoxB46 @ Nov 6th 2007 3:53PM

omg @ wicked lyrics

that may be the best thing I've seen all day.

Neon Jebus @ Nov 6th 2007 3:57PM

If it wasn't for my girlfriend singing that song everytime it played at the movie theatre befor a movie I wouldn't have had the first clue...

I have to say...pretty crafty thinking...

Jason @ Nov 6th 2007 5:26PM

Seriously...never thought I'd see Wicked lyrics on this site. And yes...I'm straight - the wife is addicted to all things Kristen Chenoweth.

SwampFoxB46 @ Nov 6th 2007 4:17PM

Kristen Chenoweth is a cute, tiny pixie.

*continues Broadway assault on joystiq*

Chris @ Nov 6th 2007 4:17PM

I love Wicked! Also a straight man.

Joe P @ Nov 6th 2007 5:29PM

...what does being straight have to do with anything?

Synner @ Nov 6th 2007 8:56PM

Because the stereotypical gay man loves theater. They are saying, I love this musical, but pole... not so much.

Dustin @ Nov 6th 2007 4:24PM

My god... A nod to a Broadway show, WICKED no less... and there's been a couple of nods to Natalie Dee on here the last few months... Joystiq, are you in my head? Cause you can stay, if you are.

Sean D. @ Nov 6th 2007 4:32PM

I, and all my Guitar Hero playing friends, picked up the stand-alone PS2 version to go with the other three GH titles we already own. I would have figured that would have been the top seller since there are already a couple of years worth of PS2 guitars out there.

It's a great game. I enjoy it immensely.