US publisher Activision has become the first video games publisher in a decade to better Electronic Arts and become the top grossing third party publisher for the first half of 2007 in North America.

Next-Gen reports that Activision’s gross sales hit $397.8 million in the period between January and June – with the bulk of its success credited to the huge sales success of Guitar Hero.

In comparison, EA’s gross sales totalled $365.7 million.

"For 17 years, I've focused on becoming the number one video game company, and we're getting a lot closer to achieving that objective," Activision chief executive Bobby Kotick stated.

"We've never been better positioned as a company to take advantage of the growth in the video game industry.”