Guitar Hero III Tops Black Ops in Lifetime Revenue

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock has climbed the all-time list of top-selling new retail games in the U.S., according to data released by the NPD group. It places first by a considerable margin—an impressive feat, judging by who’s in second place.

Despite being the biggest selling game ever, Call of Duty: Black Ops is a massive $43.5 million behind the guitar phenomenon, which brought in $830.9 million in sales for Activision. Of course, taking into consideration the time that both games have been on shelves, it won’t be long before Black Ops overtakes its one-time partner in crime at Activision and perhaps hit the $1 billion mark.

Activision has another Call of Duty entry in the top five (Modern Warfare 2), and the first Modern Warfare sits at number 10. The Wii Fit (with Balance Board) occupies third place with $736.6 million gross, and another Guitar Hero game, this time World Tour, is in seventh.

In February, Activision announced that it was going to be canning the Guitar Hero series due to poor consumer interest. I’m no publisher, but those kinds of numbers speak rather loudly and the Guitar Hero games will always have a place in homes. It just might not be as many homes.

The complete list of top-selling new retail games in the U.S. according to NPD:

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

* – Combined revenue from sales with and without bundled accessories