Green Day: Rock Band coming next year

For decades, music fans have asked who the next Beatles would be. When it comes to the Rock Band franchise, the answer is Green Day. In a taped appearance at tonight's VGAs ceremony, the members of Green Day announced that there will be an entire Rock Band game dedicated to their music a la The Beatles: Rock Band.

Ironically, tonight's announcement was the second time the San Francisco Bay Area band had revealed Green Day: Rock Band. Although Harmonix and MTV Games wouldn't confirm the news at the time, Green Day lead singer Billy Joe Armstrong told a radio station in June that a Rock Band dedicated to the group's music was due later in 2009. Armstrong was mistaken, but only about one thing; it is actually set for 2010.

When it arrives, Green Day: Rock Band will feature the band's music, "favorite venues," and onstage imagery. A handful of gameplay clips accompanied the address, featuring virtual representations of the band performing "American Idiot" amid the familiar four-player interface of Rock Band.

Unlike with The Beatles, Green Day's dedicated game won't mark its debut in rhythm games. Three of the band's songs from 21st Century Breakdown have already been added to the Rock Band downloadable catalog, and another three from the album are set to debut December 15.

[UPDATE] In a subsequent press release, MTV Games said Green Day: Rock Band was in development for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii. The game's song list will be fully exportable, allowing its songs to be played in Rock Band and Rock Band 2.