There had been rumors for awhile, and I knew that if there was ever a Green Day Rock Band, it would be a very polarizing topic, so I pulled together this post that I think anyone that has a feeling one way or another about the announcement should take a look at.

10. Money – Let’s go ahead and get this one out of the way.  Harmonix is a for-profit company, first and foremost, and they makes games so they can make money.  HOWEVER… making games for profit is NOT mutually exclusive from producing a unique music gaming experience.  Harmonix has an excellent track record of making profitable, high-quality music games, so if there is money to be made by producing a game, they have every right to do so.  In fact, now that they are owned by MTV Games, and ultimately Viacom, their shareholders expect the company to contribute in a positive way to the bottom line.

9.  MTV – I’m guessing the wheels for this game were probably set in motion very shortly after Harmonix was acquired by MTV Games.  With the release of the first band-centric music game, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, I think MTV Games insisted on testing the waters with a similar game.  But wait, what about the Beatles: Rock Band, you say?  The Beatles was definitely the exception to a potential shift to band-centric releases.  Even if the game had not been well received and successful, it would still be a feather in the cap for MTV to say “Hah… look, we got the Beatles!  They’re not even on iTunes!”  But Harmonix at their core is still an innovator, and I have a feeling that the ultimate decision for this game came from higher-ups at MTV Games, whether Harmonix was jazzed about the idea or not.

8. What If… - Whether you agree with the band-centric game model or not, releasing an all Beatles game was a no brainer.  But will another band work? They were arguably the greatest band ever, and the production team set the bar pretty high.  So after you do an all Beatles game, where do you go from there?  Good question, and the only way to test that theory is with another band.  In addition to Green Day, there have been rumors with other band-centric Rock Band games including The Who, U2, Queen, Pearl Jam, and Pink Floyd.  But what happens if it fails?  It’s not going to go over well with the band, the fans, and the record company, so what better way to try it out than with a less-iconic and less-significant band out of all the potential players?  Out of all the bands mentioned above, I bet I’m not alone in my preference for Green Day to fail than any of the other bands.

7.  Field Testing Rock Band 3 Features – This is pure speculation at this point, but there could be new features in this game that Harmonix is field testing before deciding whether or not they make the cut in the inevitable Rock Band 3.

6.  Market Penetration – In my opinion, Green Day appeals to a younger demographic than the typical Rock Band player.  I don’t have any evidence to back this up, but based on my experience, the average age of a Rock Band 2 player is college aged, and if I had to guess on the average age of a Green Day fan, I would guess something in the high school age, which is ironic considering they’ve been together since before most of their fans were born.  This game could be gunning for those kids who’ve always thought “plastic instruments are so lame,” but who might overlook that fact to give it a try if it involves their favorite band.

5. Easy to Make – Not much is known about the game yet, but it’s safe to assume it is based off of the Rock Band 2 engine.  In theory, Harmonix will be re-skinning Rock Band 2 for a customized Green Day experience.  Based on the VGA premiere trailer, it looks like a lot has changed, not just the character avatars.  The note highway, fonts, and venues are all changed.  There’s also the motion capturing of the band for authenticity.  And obviously you’ve got to chart all the songs selected for the game.  No small undertaking, but it goes without saying that before this was given the green light, some detailed financial models were prepared that showed a return greater than the cost of the effort.

4. Export/Import – This is more of a feature than a reason for its existence, but if Track Packs exist, than why can’t this?  Announced nearly immediately following the first trailer at the VGAs, Green Day Rock Band will been able to fully export songs into Rock Band 2 (provide you’re not on the Wii… sorry, you two), as well as be able to import Green Day DLC into the game.  The Beatles: Rock Band was unique in their “walled garden” approach to the import/export of their music, one can only assume due to licensing issues.  This was probably one of the trade offs made during production… since you’re not the Beatles, you have to allow your music to be exported to Rock Band 2.

3. Killing Time - The Beatles: Rock Band was about as excellent of an advertisement for Harmonix’s dedicated services to artists as possible, and I definitely think that many of the artists steadfast on keeping their music out of video games may be reconsidering (i.e. Led Zeppelin).  And if they are now interested, it will take time to sway them into licensing their music over to Harmonix for a future game, as well as producing said game to a point where it can be properly announced.  Also, Green Day Rock Band should not be Harmonix’s big game announcement for next year.  So to kill time between now and the next big game, either Rock Band 3 or (fingers crossed) Led Zeppelin: Rock Band, here’s a Green Day game!

2. It Worked for Guitar Hero – Look, I don’t like this one as much as you, either, but it’s true.  Whether you call it “milking the franchise,” “selling out,” or “destroying the game,” the fact that you are continually releasing new games (not just DLC) keeps the name recognition of the franchise front and center at retail outlets.  Releasing DLC is great for the FANS of the franchise, but it doesn’t help the brand unless you’re touting how many songs are available in the online store, which really isn’t a selling point to your average soccer mom at Target.  But if you plunk another Rock Band title with a band she’s heard of, she’ll start recognizing Rock Band as a separate (and in my obvious opinion, superior) franchise.  We know that Activision will take any word related to music and put Hero behind it and make a game, and we don’t want that to happen to Rock Band, but like it or not, the “Hero” brand has never been more recognizable to people NOT familiar with these games.  My mom still calls it “Guitar Hero Beatles” because she, like most people, just aren’t as familiar with the Rock Band brand.  I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve run into morons at Best Buy telling me that Rock Band is just copying Guitar Hero (my girlfriend was with me once when we heard that and I heard her mutter under her breath “Here we go…”).  With this approach, they should be able to eat away at even more of Guitar Hero’s market share.

1. People Like Green Day – Finally, whether YOU like them or not, there are people out there that really love Green Day… and there’s a LOT of them.  Take a look at their stats:  Green Day has sold over 65 million albums (22 million in the US alone), nine albums with at least a Gold status (including one Diamond status album), and 3 Grammy’s.  I get that the band is a very polarizing band… you either love ‘em or hate ‘em, which I think makes more sense for a full game vs. just DLC.  The people that love Green Day will buy it.  The people that don’t, won’t buy it.

I know this probably isn’t going to change anyone’s minds on whether they plan on purchasing this (honestly, that’s Harmonix’s job), but I’d LOVE to hear your thoughts in the comments, so get to posting, will ya?!

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