Skip to main content

Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Guitar Hero III generated tons of money

More than any other game in US history.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is the highest-grossing video game in US history.

The Neversoft-created music game generated an eye-watering $830.9 million in revenue for Activision in North America alone.

Guitar Hero III, which launched in November 2007, beats out Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops, which has raked in $787.4 million since launch late last year, in NPD's list published by CNBC.

The top 10:

  1. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock $830.9 million
  2. Call of Duty: Black Ops $787.4 million
  3. Wii Fit (inc: Balance Board) $736.6 million
  4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 $713.6 million
  5. Rock Band $670.7 million
  6. Wii Play (inc: Wii Remote)
  7. Guitar Hero World Tour
  8. Wii Fit Plus
  9. Mario Kart Wii (inc: Wii Wheel)
  10. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

The list is dominated by peripheral-based games, which of course are more expensive than other games. This skews the list somewhat, and makes Call of Duty's appearance all the more impressive.

Activision canned its Guitar Hero business earlier this year following poor sales of Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.