The gaming industry just keeps. On. Growing. And shows no sign of slacking off! And while many pundits will point to the runaway success of the Wii as a key catalyst for this growth, some sales analysis by UBS' Ben Schachter shows that the driving force behind the industry's success is in fact music games. Particularly, Guitar Hero & Rock Band. According to Schachter's research, music games accounted for 19% of all gaming sales last month, and accounted for a crazy 44% of gaming's dollar growth over July 2007. Yeah, it's only one month, and yeah, they'll account for growth because they're expensive, but still. Don't rain on their parade! That's big money whichever way you look at it.
Music Video Games Account for 32% of Industry Growth [GameDaily]

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There is no better pick me up in the world than the opening chords of Def Leppard's "Photograph". See for yourself once Guitar Hero 4. During an interview wit the band on the radio show Rockline, a caller asked why none of their songs were featured in Guitar Hero or Rock Band. Guitarist Phil Collen replied, revealing that at least three of their hits would be featured in GH4, including "Rock of Ages", "Animal", and of course, "Photograph". Personally I was hoping they would show up as downloadable content for Rock Band, but that's only because I lost one of my drumsticks. Oh come on, I had to go there. It was a moral imperative.

Def Leppard Songs to Appear in Guitar Hero 4 [Guitar Hero News]