Ghostly MJ Griffith at CES.
It has to be said that president and chief executive officer of Activision Publishing (not Activision Blizzard), Michael J Griffith, loves Guitar Hero. Along with mentions of Call of Duty at recent CES events, it was GH that stole his "storytelling experience". He even managed to use the success of artistes who have appeared on another music game to sell his own product.
He cited Nielsen SoundScan data that indicates rises in download sales of 15-843% for those lucky musicians who have featured in GH games. The idea that anybody can have a rise of 843% in anything (let alone sales) is hugely encouraging.
As with all stats, however, they must be treated with care. Especially when used to sell your product. The 843% song cited by Nielsen SoundScan was the Smashing Pumpkins' Cherub Rock. Nielsen cites the following data:
"Smashing Pumpkins, Cherub Rock (1993), Virgin, released on Rock Band on Nov. 20, 2007: 6,600 downloads, up 843 percent".
We thought that the track also appeared on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock... which, of course, it did.
In fact, here's a quick look at some of the risers announced by Nielsen Soundscan:
— Nirvana, In Bloom (1992), Rock Band, up 543%.
— R.E.M., Orange Crush, Rock Band, up 256%.
— Red Hot Chili Peppers, Suck My Kiss, Guitar Hero III, up 200%.
— Pat Benatar, Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Guitar Hero III, up 180%.
— Guns N' Roses, Welcome to the Jungle, Guitar Hero III, up 153%.
— Kiss, Detroit Rock City, Rock Band, up 89%.
— David Bowie, Suffragette City, Rock Band, up 55%.
— Aerosmith, Dream On (1973),Guitar Hero III, up 15%.
In a 'startling' prediction, Mike also told the world that video games will "eclipse all other forms of entertainment in the coming decade" because the others are "stagnating or contracting".
Apparently, "Gaming is changing the world of storytelling, the world of music and the world of entertainment in ways that we never could have imagined a few years ago."
Okay, coming from the CEO of one of the world's largest publishers of video games, this prediction is less than startling. What Griffith appears to be saying is that gaming will beat all other forms of entertainment not because gaming is a spectacular media, but because TV, movies and "recorded music", are stagnating.
The video games industry should, of course, triumph and crush all-comers under its heel by being better than great. Let's just hope that Activision Publishing's clarion call to its developers doesn't turn out to be: "Be slightly better than mediocre for the win!"
Speaking at CES, as any good CEO would, he also mentioned some figures that he had to hand - these indicated that between 2003 and 2007: TV-watching declined by 6%; movie-going dropped by 6%; recorded music sales fell by 12%; the video game industry "grew by 40%". Whether this was global or confined to the USA wasn't entirely clear.
Sources:
The Daily Telegraph
The BBC
Las Vegas Sun
USA Today
Mercury News
He cited Nielsen SoundScan data that indicates rises in download sales of 15-843% for those lucky musicians who have featured in GH games. The idea that anybody can have a rise of 843% in anything (let alone sales) is hugely encouraging.
As with all stats, however, they must be treated with care. Especially when used to sell your product. The 843% song cited by Nielsen SoundScan was the Smashing Pumpkins' Cherub Rock. Nielsen cites the following data:
"Smashing Pumpkins, Cherub Rock (1993), Virgin, released on Rock Band on Nov. 20, 2007: 6,600 downloads, up 843 percent".
We thought that the track also appeared on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock... which, of course, it did.
In fact, here's a quick look at some of the risers announced by Nielsen Soundscan:
— Nirvana, In Bloom (1992), Rock Band, up 543%.
— R.E.M., Orange Crush, Rock Band, up 256%.
— Red Hot Chili Peppers, Suck My Kiss, Guitar Hero III, up 200%.
— Pat Benatar, Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Guitar Hero III, up 180%.
— Guns N' Roses, Welcome to the Jungle, Guitar Hero III, up 153%.
— Kiss, Detroit Rock City, Rock Band, up 89%.
— David Bowie, Suffragette City, Rock Band, up 55%.
— Aerosmith, Dream On (1973),Guitar Hero III, up 15%.
In a 'startling' prediction, Mike also told the world that video games will "eclipse all other forms of entertainment in the coming decade" because the others are "stagnating or contracting".
Apparently, "Gaming is changing the world of storytelling, the world of music and the world of entertainment in ways that we never could have imagined a few years ago."
Okay, coming from the CEO of one of the world's largest publishers of video games, this prediction is less than startling. What Griffith appears to be saying is that gaming will beat all other forms of entertainment not because gaming is a spectacular media, but because TV, movies and "recorded music", are stagnating.
The video games industry should, of course, triumph and crush all-comers under its heel by being better than great. Let's just hope that Activision Publishing's clarion call to its developers doesn't turn out to be: "Be slightly better than mediocre for the win!"
Speaking at CES, as any good CEO would, he also mentioned some figures that he had to hand - these indicated that between 2003 and 2007: TV-watching declined by 6%; movie-going dropped by 6%; recorded music sales fell by 12%; the video game industry "grew by 40%". Whether this was global or confined to the USA wasn't entirely clear.
Sources:
The Daily Telegraph
The BBC
Las Vegas Sun
USA Today
Mercury News
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