Video games, especially the music game genre, got a good jump to the holidays back in September on the backs of new releases "The Beatles: Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero 5."
MTV's Beatles videogame, released September 9, sold 595,000 units, according to the NPD Group, making it the third-best selling game of the month overall behind "Halo 3: ODST" and "Madden NFL 10." Activision's "Guitar Hero 5," released September 1, ranked fourth overall for the month with 499,000 in unit sales.
Both totals are on par with that of first-month sales for the flagship music offerings from both companies last year. Activision's "Guitar Hero World Tour" had first-month sales of 534,000 units last year, while "Rock Band 2" sold just over 238,000 copies its first month.
Combined, however, both "The Beatles: Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero 5" drove a 72 percent increase in revenue for the music game genre over September 2008. From both a revenue and unit sales standpoint, the results represent good news for a music industry with vested interest in the continued popularity of the music game genre.
Year-over-year revenue for the genre had fallen 46 percent this year through August, sparking speculation that the category was a passing fad. But that decline was likely more a function of fewer and cheaper music games hitting the market this year, compared with 2008, until September's dual high-profile releases.
Music and video games have always been dancing toe-to-toe year in and year and year out with overall good results. Bands, such as Yellowcard, have seen album or singles sales go up thru their presence in video games. As most in the industry think, its a fad, most will say that the odd couple makes for a great marketing tool. With the advent of digital downloads, the music industry has been trying to find good ways to keep music in the forefront of whats popular - MTV, ring-tones, mp3 players, download cards, etc. Video games is just another avenue. Now, not all music would be a welcome fit to the gamers market, but for the edgy, musician, its a great starting point. Video games have also seen its successes by using popular, edgy music. Just take a look at the success of video game soundtracks like Grand Theft Auto Series or Soundtracks to Final Fantasy.
Both industries depend on creativity to strike their audience's appeal. Now the audience is just waiting for the next lightning from the combo to strike.
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