Activision, which already announced that it was the top publisher in 2007 in large part thanks to Guitar Hero, today announced that its popular music game franchise has set an industry record by breaking $1 billion in North American retail sales in just 26 months (according to data from The NPD Group). Since the Guitar Hero franchise debuted in fall 2005, it has sold over 14 million units in North America alone.

Furthermore, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock was the number one video game in units and dollars for calendar year 2007, "making it the #1 best-selling video game of all time in a single calendar year," Activision boasted. Activision has also benefited from ancillary revenue, as gamers have downloaded more than five million songs in the 10 weeks since the game's launch. MTV Games recently said that the competing Rock Band has seen 2.5 million song downloads.

"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 Chief Executive Officer, Activision Publishing, Inc. "Guitar Hero's popularity with broad audiences is a confirmation that video games have become a true mass medium."