Is anyone really surprised that The Beatles: Rock Band is selling well? After all, the game features one of the biggest music groups of all time whose influence is still felt after four decades; many expected big numbers. Viacom, parent company of MTV, seemed to think otherwise, and CEO Philippe Dauman stated on a recent conference call that sales of the latest Harmonix game have "exceeded... internal expectations".

“It's been terrific. The sales have exceeded our internal expectations. In the first week we've sold about 25% of our inventory, and we've had tremendous excitement around this game. The reviews have been incredible... It really is a work of art. The game delivers in all respects and we think it's going to have legs... It's selling well across all platforms (Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii), and in fact the pricing change that was made on PlayStation has helped sales on that platform. And with The Beatles there's a lot of built-in promotion with the release of their music because they're releasing Abbey Road next month, Sgt. Pepper after that and so forth. So in addition to all the marketing we're putting behind it across our networks along with the promotion that comes from The Beatles re-releasing their songs, there's going to be promotion for the next several months, and as we go into the holidays it'll be great.”

Even the super-pricey $250 bundle, is going fast, and Dauman expected to be sold out by November. That means if you wanted to get it for the holiday season, you had better move. This seems like good news for Harmonix and MTV Games, though industry analyst Jesse Divinch was quick to point out that exceeding internal expectations was not the same as exceeding market expectations. My personal guesstimation, based on nothing but my knowledge of the band and love for the game, is that The Beatles: Rock Band is going to sell like hotcakes this holiday season. I can't wait to see what the results are in a few months.

[Source]