Guitar Hero surpasses $1 billion sales in 26 months

Activision has announced that its Guitar Hero franchise has set an industry record, surpassing USD 1 billion in North American retail sales in just 26 months.

"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 CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc.

"Guitar Hero's popularity with broad audiences is a confirmation that video games have become a true mass medium."

Since its initial release in fall 2005, the Guitar Hero franchise has sold in excess of 14 million units in North America alone, according to The NPD Group.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock was the number one title in units and dollars for calendar year 2007, making it the number one best-selling video game of all time in a single calendar year according to Activision.

In the ten weeks since the game's launch, consumers have already downloaded more than five million songs.