Guitar Hero outsells Rock Band 2-to-1

By Ellie Gibson Published 26 January, 2009

Activision's effort more popular in US.

New figures from US data trackers NPD have revealed Guitar Hero World Tour is winning the battle of the band games.

As reported by Gamespot, 3.4 million copies of the game were sold in North America last year. The figure for Rock Band 2 stood at 1.7 million.

That's despite the fact Harmonix's effort had a head-start, sort of - the Xbox 360 version hit US shops on 14th September, followed by the PS3 game on 19th October. The Wii and PS2 versions didn't arrive until December 18th, though. Guitar Hero World Tour went on sale for all consoles on 26th October.

So which one do you prefer? Eurogamer can't decide, having given both World Tour and Rock Band 2 healthy 9/10s.

And besides, the two games aren't in competition anyway, remember? Yeah okay.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (43) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • VandelayIndustries #1 3 years ago

    The great unwashed have no taste. Shocker!

  • Goodfella #2 3 years ago

    Rock Band is better by a country mile in every single aspect as far as I am concerend. Peasants don't have any taste, they just follow the crowd.

  • Mr_Dodger #3 3 years ago

    Rock Band is better by a country mile in every single aspect as far as I am concerend. Peasants don't have any taste, they just follow the crowd.

    Totally agree. Can't understand this at all, unless it's down to brand recognition?

  • Dazimus #4 3 years ago

    Rock Band is better in every way. GHWT is just disappointing. And I haven't even played RB2 yet.

  • Beano #5 3 years ago

    Maybe EA should consider releasing RB2 i Europe?

    Maybe that would improve sales numbers. Just a wild idea!!

    (EA pricks!)

  • Goodfella #6 3 years ago

    Well indeed. It can't help that the PS3 version is still nowhere to be seen.

  • Riggers #7 3 years ago

    I tend to prefer the track listing of the Guitar Hero games, but think that Rock Band plays better. The 'notes' you have to hit seem to relate a bit more to what you're hearing, rather than just hitting combos of buttons with music in the background. Harmonix's experience in music games really shows.

  • JahB #8 3 years ago

    i for one take guitar hero over rock band any day. without a doubt, rockband 2 is the superior software in terms of a party game, but guitar hero is still a hell of a lot better as a scoring game (you know, like gh 1, 2 and 3 were). rb2's guitar tracks are just way too easy, and additionally, the gh instruments wipe the floor with everything else. well, excepting that outrageously pricey logitech guitar, but until they make that available for the 360 i'll stick with my gh guitar.

  • mfnick #9 3 years ago

    The only thing stopping me from getting RB2 is the price - £40-50 everywhere I see it. Ive not payed that much for a game in years & im not about to start now.

  • streetmagix #10 3 years ago

    Can I buy Rock Band 2 for PS3? No? How about the PS2 version? Nope? Wii? PC? Anything other than the Xbox 360? Not a chance then.

  • TheSaint #11 3 years ago

    Some people have no taste.

    Personally I haven't touched guitar hero since getting rock band and rock band 2.

  • nickthegun #12 3 years ago

    'Effort' being the key phrase, in europe at least.

    Its like they dont want you to buy Rock Band.

  • Doctor_What #13 3 years ago

    Come on EG: we want news about PS3 RB2! Get fact finding! ... Please :)

  • spudsbuckley #14 3 years ago

    Is PS3 RB2 not supposed to be out this Friday?

    All the retailers websites seem to think it is.

  • DFawkes #15 3 years ago

    My personal preference is Guitar Hero, and I could see why people would prefer it. I like the track list better, and don't want to spend all that much on DLC (ehich even if I was, I'd prefer the GH stuff).

    But I don't think this comes down to that, I think it's more the fact it's the more established brand, plus most people will fork out once for the full kit, but not both.

  • Dazimus #16 3 years ago

    @street magix - you can import RB2 from the US if you want, it works fine. Obviously wont play any DLC if you have a European RB1 though.

  • YobRenoops #17 3 years ago

    Its obviously because its been a Timed Exclusive, and the buzz dies between the two releases (look at the RB1 release on PS3. Mega? I think not). Just stop this bollocks and release at the same time.

  • Wickerman #18 3 years ago

    I wouldn't personally say that Rock Band is better than GH:WT in EVERY way - the character creation and on stage animations for GH:WT are significantly better than Rock Band. But for me the actual notation, game play experience and (most importantly) track lists on Rock Band 1 and 2 are miles ahead of GH:WT (which had all of about 5 songs, if that, that I enjoyed). That said, Guitar Hero 1's track list still pisses over all those that have gone after it from an extremely high height!

  • kinky_mong #19 3 years ago

    Totally agree. Can't understand this at all, unless it's down to brand recognition?

    That's exactly what it's down to. The average person on the street (or ill-informed moron as I like to call them) has been bombarded with adverts for Guitar Hero and it's become the catch all term when ever mainstream media refers to rhythm game.

    It's a big shame because Rock Band is a much better game. It's more polished, its nailed DLC by having regular releases covering a broad range of music and it just works better as a multiplayer party game.

    The only people in my experience who vouch for Guitar Hero over Rock Band are the sort of masochists who like ridiculously hard note charts that have little to do with the original song.

  • olilan #20 3 years ago

    Rock Band (2) *is* better than GH:WT in every way - the presentation, the gameplay features, the note charting, the available songs... but I still had to buy GH:WT for my brothers for Christmas because they haven't released the RB2 instruments in the UK and I wasn't going to get the old RB1 kit. Dumb.

  • Toothball #21 3 years ago

    I'm also with Rock Band. I've spent countless hours playing that with my band, and we far from getting tired of it. Despite getting quite far into RB2's Tour, we've even gone back to the first one to finish that off as it's still plenty of fun. I've also probably spent enough on DLC for two or three copies worth of Guitar Hero games. Wonder how that factors in?

    Anyway, I plan to follow Harmonix into whatever they do in future, as they've been making music games for years. Neversoft have been making Skateboarding games, bleeding Tony Hawk dry in the process and eventually discarding him after the games had lost the appeal that originally made them fun. I expect the same will happen to Guitar Hero eventually.

    @kinky_mong:

    The only people in my experience who vouch for Guitar Hero over Rock Band are the sort of masochists who like ridiculously hard note charts that have little to do with the original song.

    I know a couple of people like that. I call them Guitar Perverts. I don't think they enjoy fun.
    Edited by 2 at 26/01/09 @ 10:06

  • TONYgr #22 3 years ago

    guys i prefer WT over RB because of the difficulty.i play with four buttons.in WT is the perfect difficulty for me,in RB is way too boring and easy.also it has better instruments and a better setlist for me personally.

  • Frandroid #23 3 years ago

    Have to say that I think the comparison is slightly flawed as it's comparing GH:WT to RB2 only. Fair enough, both are similar games and were on sale for a similar period of time. However, GH:WT was the first 'full band' game from the Guitar Hero franchise while RB2 was just a buff and polish of RB1.
    With all the tracks available for purchase for both versions, I'm struggling to find a real reason to move from RB1 to RB2. I'm sure I'm not the only one. Speaking of which, I'd be curious to see a comparison of track sales for the two games.

  • Nabokov #24 3 years ago

    GH:WT has sold for Wii almost as much as RB2 in total, that explains quite a lot. RB2 is late, and less know.

    Also, how are casuals supposed to know that RB is "better"? When I look the track list I don't see a big difference, and reviewers like both.

  • MikeN #25 3 years ago

    On balance I'd go with RB and it's the DLC that puts it ahead of GHWT. GH has a couple of little polishes like the onstage animations of the band members but that's it. I'd wager the ratio of GH-RB sales in Europe is the same if not more. Activision at least seem to be making an effort to promote GH compared to EA's lacklustre effort with RB, still no word on the release of new RB2 instruments in Europe!
    Edited by 1 at 26/01/09 @ 10:41

  • metalnut #26 3 years ago

    Newsflash - brand loyalty wins out over good taste. The lack of a release on PS3 and Wii in Europe aren't a factor here since these are just US numbers, where the games were released much closer together.

    GH:WT isn't a bad game, it just seems worse if you've spent any significant time with Harmonix's significantly more polished game. Rock Band is for the music enthusiasts & people who actually play with *other people*, GH:WT is for the masses and lonely high-difficulty guitar soloists.

  • Rodafowa #27 3 years ago

    guys i prefer WT over RB because of the difficulty.i play with four buttons.in WT is the perfect difficulty for me,in RB is way too boring and easy.
    You need to play RB one difficulty level higher than you played GH/2/3. I was in exactly the same boat as you - I played Medium difficulty on every GH game (just about managing to five-star every song in GH3), then found RB thoroughly underwhelming on guitar. So I decided I'd have to make the effort to jump to Hard. It was a real struggle for the first week or so, then my brain seemed to rewire itself, I was away and suddenly having a ton more fun. That's the advantage of RB having so many relatively easy guitar songs - it makes the transition up a difficulty level significantly easier than it was in any GH game.

    Anyway, I'm with the majority of people here. Rock Band > Guitar Hero WT in pretty much every respect in terms of software. GHWT's hardware does seem really nice, though.

  • Sar #28 3 years ago

    Real men use gamepads, not instruments!

  • frycrayola #29 3 years ago

    @ Frandroid: "With all the tracks available for purchase for both versions, I'm struggling to find a real reason to move from RB1 to RB2."

    Well, you've got the 100 or so tracks that are only available through RB2 (those on the disc and the 20 songs available to download), but the main reason to upgrade is that the software is better. The World Tour is improved and can be played by a single player, and the Battle of the Bands and Challenges are both excellent additions.

    Of course, if the tracklist of the game doesn't appeal, these upgrades aren't worth shelling out £40 for, but then the tracklist of RB2 is damn excellent so...

  • Derblington #30 3 years ago

    "Maybe EA should consider releasing RB2 i Europe?

    Maybe that would improve sales numbers. Just a wild idea!!"

    Yeah, that'd work wonders bolstering the US sales figures...

  • metalnut #31 3 years ago

    Just on the hardware issue, personally I think the GH:WT drum kick pedal sucks ass. It's far too light, doesn't have enough travel, and is really hard to play in heel-up (ie rock drummer) style because it's lack of weight, and lack of fixed position, allows it to jump around. Poor design.

    The rubber pads on the kit are great though. But again, it's not perfect - the fixed 1 snare, 2-tom, 2 cymbal setup restricts the charting, meaning you get no 3-tom rolls sequences like in Won't Get Fooled Again (or pretty much any Keith Moon drum chart), and no open hi-hat charting. RB's 4 pads are individually of poorer quality (although they're cheap to mod), but the more abstract layout allows for much more range on the drum charts. Drums are therefore more authentic on Rock Band despite the the surface impression you might get from the look of the hardware.

  • jmg123 #32 3 years ago

    Well if they can't be bothered to relase it on anything but Xbox 360, then it is unsuprising that the vast majority of the public can't be bothered to buy it. Shame really, it looks like it has more/better DLC, and the import feature from RB1 is good. I'll stick to GH:WT hardware , and not buy Rockband out of principle, even though it looks good.

    @Sar Damn straight, it's the only way I can do knights of cydonia.
    Edited by 1 at 26/01/09 @ 12:31

  • Toothball #33 3 years ago

    @metalnut:

    RB's 4 pads are individually of poorer quality (although they're cheap to mod), but the more abstract layout allows for much more range on the drum charts. Drums are therefore more authentic on Rock Band despite the the surface impression you might get from the look of the hardware.

    Adding cymbals to the Rock Band kit really completes the experience. I guess that's a bit tricky for now unless you imported an RB2 kit, but keep an eye out for them.

  • andywilkie35 #34 3 years ago

    I own both and my personal feeling is Rock Band shits all over Guitar Hero WT. I think for people who don't know much about them, GH (as said previously) is the one they know so they buy it. I've got a fair few mates who aren't that into games but own consoles who've gone for GHWT over RB purely because they hadn't even heard of Rock Band!

  • JahB #35 3 years ago

    GH:WT isn't a bad game, it just seems worse if you've spent any significant time with Harmonix's significantly more polished game. Rock Band is for the music enthusiasts & people who actually play with *other people*, GH:WT is for the masses and lonely high-difficulty guitar soloists.

    so "the masses" don't play with other people? that's a bit of a dumb statement. plus, being a high-difficulty solo guitarist doesn't make you lonely, it just means you played the previous games. i loved GH1 and 2, but I find it odd that harmonix completely shits on their customers of old by making every single song on the guitar piss easy. i want a challenging game, and RB does not provide that.

  • Feanor #36 3 years ago

    RB fanboys are most amusing. There really isn't that much between the two games, no matter how cool you want to think you are for owning the less popular of the two.

  • metalnut #37 3 years ago

    "so "the masses" don't play with other people? that's a bit of a dumb statement. "

    I clearly confused you by putting 2 reasons in one sentence. The masses probably do play with others, they just don't realise how much worse the party experience is in GH:WT (unbelievably crappy UI beyond 1 player, no friend-helping or saving, no no-fail mode)

    "i loved GH1 and 2, but I find it odd that harmonix completely shits on their customers of old by making every single song on the guitar piss easy."

    No-one I play with thinks that Expert is too easy on RB. Sure, some songs are easier than others, but that's a function of the music first and foremost. But then, none of us had any interest in beating Through the Fire and The Flames in previous games. I hover between Hard and Expert on most songs - I had GH1,2 & 3 but I was never an obsessive about beating the highest difficulty - what's fun about it is the experience with friends.

    First and foremost, these are social games. If you want to prove your metal, I'm sure you'll love GH:Metallica, whilst for me that holds zero appeal. Whatever floats your boat, but not everyone thinks guitar tracks need to be absolutely mental to be fun.

    "RB fanboys are most amusing. There really isn't that much between the two games...."

    If you really think that, you haven't played them both very much.
    Edited by 2 at 26/01/09 @ 15:22

  • Toothball #38 3 years ago

    Raw difficulty isn't the only way to provide a challenge though, and doesn't always equate to more fun. Getting though Endless mode on RB1 was a huge effort that left everyone in my band worn out but very satisfied. We went on to do it three times, and are really looking forward to the same event in RB2.

  • kangarootoo #39 3 years ago

    "Real men use gamepads, not instruments!"

    Marinade in irony overnight for best results.


    I'm not that surprised at this news. I also think RB2 is hands down the better package, but GH is a very well known brand now. The name Guitar Hero is practically a genre meaning "music instrument game". Anyone outside of hardcore gaming is not even going to think twice if they want to buy a guitar peripheral based game.

    Plus the name Guitar Hero is more distinctive. The words "rock band" sat next to each have existed for ages as a pretty generic term, so its confusing for consumers. If you saw a product ad with Rock Band on it, you might think it was the game, you might also think it was a gig, or a magazine, or who knows what. If you see the words "Guitar Hero", you probably know it refers to only one thing.

  • kangarootoo #40 3 years ago

    ""RB fanboys are most amusing. There really isn't that much between the two games...."

    If you really think that, you haven't played them both very much."

    Well its all by degrees isn't it. Compared to PGA Golf or Burnout, GH and RB are as good as identical. As far as most people are concerned, there ISN'T much difference between the two.

    In fact it is hard to think of two other video games that share so much in common with each other as GH and RB do.

  • spudsbuckley #41 3 years ago

    They are pretty similar to be honest. GH is just harder than RB. They're both really good though in my opinion.

  • sanctusmortis #42 3 years ago

    Brand recognition beats developer love; non-shocker.

  • HuggyAtHome #43 3 years ago

    Could this be something to do with the quality and backwards and cross title compatibility of the instruments?? - the fact that the RB1 drum kit is crap comparted to the GH version whilst the GHWT guitar is top quality compared to the RB bit of plastic. I know plenty of people who bought GHWT on the basis that it will work with RB1 & 2 whereas the RB instruments get a bit fussy with other software. After all - if you are spending over £150 on a game you want to squeeze as much reuse as possible out of the kit don't you?