Combined sales for the Beatles game edge in front of Guitar Hero 5, but consumers spent twice as much on packages for the Rock Band release.

MTV Games now have plenty of reason to celebrate as their latest music game, The Beatles: Rock Band, has managed 600,000 combined sales, closely beating Guitar Hero 5 with nearly 500,000.

"We outsold them two-to-one on a revenue basis and we outperformed on a unit basis as well, despite the fact that they had an eight-day advantage, and were giving away free software," said General Manager at MTV Games, Scott Guthrie. "At the end of the day, The Beatles: Rock Band clearly outperformed them, and we’re not done yet. We’re anticipating a very successful holiday period."

However, he didn’t just sing the praises of his currently successful game. The music game genre has managed to grow considerably this year, which is good news for all parties involved.

"The important thing is that the music genre is up 72 percent versus a year ago," said Guthrie. "That’s the number both they and us can be very proud of. It even proves some of the pundits wrong -- that the music category is on the decline, or not as vibrant as it used to be."

Source: Gamasutra, IGN