Following yesterday’s announcement that the competing game Rock Band is gold, Activision reminded us this morning of Guitar Hero III: Legend’s of Rock’s success. In the first seven days that the game has been available in North America, Guitar Hero III has already raked in $115 million, and the game hasn’t even reached Europe yet (and won’t until November 23).

The hot competition between Rock Band and Guitar Hero III continues, but no matter how great Rock Band may be, it’s hard to see it matching the success of Guitar Hero. With two past iterations of the game, Guitar Hero has an army of loyal fans. Nearly every musician wants in on the Guitar Hero phenomenon and stores that were reluctant to stock the original game are fighting to get more copies. Rock Band has to hurdle a very high bar to match Guitar Hero’s level of success.