14 DAY TRIAL // We knew that Activision's Guitar Hero franchise was popular, but not this popular, According to the game's publisher, NPD Group figures and the music industry's RIAA, downloadable Xbox 360 song packs via Xbox Live "hit multi-platinum status with more than 650,000 downloads through Xbox LIVE Marketplace in less than five months." Individual songs have also topped some two million downloads.
"Activision was the first third-party publisher to offer downloadable content via Xbox LIVE to consumers and as a result, we have tremendous insight into the types of content that consumers want," states Dusty Welch, head of publishing, RedOctane. "The Guitar Hero II downloadable video game song packs are some of the most popular content on Xbox LIVE and are quickly becoming a very lucrative revenue stream and powerful promotional vehicle for musicians and record labels today."
Tim Riley, worldwide executive of music for Activision, added, "Activision has long been a pioneer in recognizing the importance of music in games and has forged unprecedented partnerships with all of the major record labels, music publishers and bands in order to offer Guitar Hero fans unrivaled access to music catalogues."
"We have been working very closely with Activision to make our catalog available for download for the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II. The results we have seen from download sales to date have been very impressive. This partnership is providing EMI Music Publishing and its songwriters with a valuable new source of revenue, and at the same time giving us the opportunity to exploit portions of our catalog that might otherwise not get such high-profile exposure," remarked Rod Kotler, Director of Music Services, EMI Music Publishing.
And Activision doesn't stop here, as you can imagine. The sequel to GH II, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock will also offer tons of downloadable content and songs from some of the most popular European bands. And in case you were wondering just how many copies the franchise has sold to date..., Guitar Hero has topped the 5.5 million units milestone.