Activision Inc is set to launch "Guitar Hero 3" amid expectations that the latest installment of its music-themed franchise will be a platinum hit for the second-biggest U.S. video game publisher.
The game is the highly anticipated encore to one of the year's breakout successes, "Guitar Hero 2," which sold 3.9 million copies through September, according to market research firm NPD.
The game has become a cultural phenomenon. Bars have held "Guitar Hero" competitions and fans have uploaded videos of their best performances to the Internet. A search for "Guitar Hero" on YouTube returns 76,100 results.
The sales figure for the current title is even more impressive considering that the game sells for at least $80, since it includes a guitar-shaped controller. (Most video games sell for about $60.) As colored notes cascade down the video screen, players must hit correspondingly-colored buttons on the guitar neck.
Anticipation of "Guitar Hero 3" has helped drive Activision shares higher, despite the anticipated debut of a rival game next month.
Activision shares have risen nearly 33 percent so far this year, compared to a rise of nearly 14 percent for those of its larger rival Electronic Arts Inc.
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