Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock has brought in more money in new U.S. retail sales than any game in recent history, according to new data released by the NPD group.
The tracking firm tells CNBC (complete list link) that the title brought in $830.9 million in retail sales for publisher Activision, including bundles that were bundled with guitar controllers but not including additional revenue from downloadable songs.
Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops seems set to overtake the music title in the near future, though. The first-person shooter -- which is already the top new retail seller in the U.S. by units with over 13.7 million sales -- stands in second place on the new retail revenue list with $787.4 million in earnings.
Two other Call of Duty titles and one other Guitar Hero title appear on the revenue top ten, giving Activision five of the top ten earners.
Nintendo has four titles on the list -- including two version of Wii Fit and the Remote-bundled Wii Play -- while rhythm game competitor Rock Band take's the list's fifth place spot.
NPD, which has been tracking new retail games sales in the U.S. since 1995, did not adjust revenues for inflation and did not include games bundled with video game systems, such as Wii Sports. Classic titles such as Super Mario Bros. 3, which sold 18 million units on the NES in the early '90s, would likely appear on the list had they been tracked by NPD
The complete list of top-selling new retail games in the U.S. by revenue, according to NPD, is as follows:
1. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock* $830.9 million
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops $787.4 million
3. Wii Fit (w/ Balance Board) $736.6 million
4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 $713.6 million
5. Rock Band*$670.7 million
6. Wii Play (w/ Wii Remote)
7. Guitar Hero World Tour*
8. Wii Fit Plus*
9. Mario Kart Wii (w/ Wii Wheel)
10. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
* - Combines revenue from sales with and without bundled accessories, such as instrument controllers and the Wii Balance Board
That's pretty impressive Kotick has the #1 and #2 slots all time for Activision, I read a good piece on him (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/business-executive-suite-bobby-kotick-4998 9). Not to mention they have 4, 7 and 10 also.
9). Not to mention they have 4, 7 and 10 also.