Music games bringing in the dough

We all knew that music games (like Guitar Hero and Rock Band) were huge and possibly driving sales, but a recent GameDaily post illustrates just how important the “it” genre has become. The post states that “music games have been a “key driver” this year, with “sales of music-themed games responsible for 19% of overall industry software dollars in July (15% YTD) and 44% of y/y industry dollar growth during the month (32% of growth YTD)” and Guitar Hero franchise dollars year-to-date are up an astounding 87%. Rock Band has been no slouch, either, with combined sales (across platforms) of $47 million. Those numbers are nothing to shake a goofy plastic guitar at.

32% of industry growth? That’s huge. Something has to be said for the universal appeal of these games, with their gameplay that appeals to casual gamers who just want something to rock out with at parties, and hardcore gamers going for insanely high scores. With Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero World Tour, Wii Music and Rock Revolution still forthcoming, it doesn’t look like the genre will be out of juice anytime soon.

Read [GameDaily]