Man, things have really gotten hot an heavy this week, haven’t they? Just as I was hitting Publish on that last post, Harmonix sent out a press release including launch details for Green Day: Rock Band. Here’s the skinny:

The game hits June 8, for the usual $60/$50 retail price for the standalone disc, depending on your platform. There will also be a special $70 “Plus” package for 360 and PS3 that includes “special packaging, export [code] and six Green Day DLC tracks." Kind of a clever idea, I think.

UPDATE: HMXHenry just updated the release post at the Rock Band forums to note that if you pre-order Green Day: Rock Band through GameStop, you'll get "a token that will allow you to export without paying any additional charge." "We’re committed to pushing for export to build on what is already the largest set list in music gaming," he says, "especially if we can do so in a way that’s beneficial to the early adopters and the most dedicated fans of the RB community."

UPDATE 2: Just realized I never noted what that export code is worth: Without it (or the Plus package) it'll cost you $10 to export all the songs to your hard drive to play in Rock Band 2.

As for more game details? The game will include 47 tracks, but no new revelations here: Only the ones played at last night's performance are listed in the press release. (If you're wondering, the press release seems to treat "Jaded" and "Brain Stew" as separate tracks.)

The release also mentions the game's story mode in passing, saying that "players progress through the story and history of Green Day, gaining access into the band’s media vault, where they can unlock more than 100 collectible images, and more than 40 minutes of rare and unreleased video from interviews, outtakes and performances." So, sounds pretty similar to the Beatles treatment, which is fine by me. Even not knowing much about the Beatles at the time I found a lot of the archival stuff fascinating.

And here's one other detail I find kind of neat: "The six Green Day tracks already available in the Rock Band Music Store ... can be played in Green Day: Rock Band with added vocal harmonies, unique performance visuals, and exclusive archival material." Synergy!

So, tell me: Do you plan to pick this up?

UPDATE 3: Box art and new screens after the break!

UPDATE 4: And very loud video from last night's hootenany, via @strngwys and @RockBandAide.

UPDATE 5: And the official trailer!

Continue reading →

Remind me to never again go on vacation right before GDC. Scratch that — remind me to never again not go to GDC. Because this year’s conference has turned into a particularly juicy show for fans of music games.

Take, for example, last night’s live, on-stage demo of Green Day: Rock Band. According to IGN, Harmonix showed off five (or, I suppose, technically six) tracks from the game:

• “American Idiot”
• “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”
• “Brain Stew/Jaded”
• “Hitchin’ a Ride”
• “Wake Me Up When September Ends”

IGN had good things to say about the in-game models and three-part harmonies, and of course brings up the predictable question about price versus value. I’m going to leave that alone for now; until we get a better idea of the length and breadth of the set list, it’s hard to say whether the game will be worth the presumed full-retail price tag.

I do want to point out that I think Harmonix did a clever thing by performing “Brain Stew/Jaded” together but “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” singly, without the attached (and far superior) “Holiday.” Seems like a pretty clear indication that we’ll be able to play Green Day’s handful of mooshed-together medleys singly or together. Come to think of it, though, I suppose “Brain Stew/Jaded” is quite a bit shorter than “Holiday/Boulevard of Broken Dreams” — so perhaps it’s more a factor of length than anything else.

One thing I’m particularly glad of: This should mean they’ll definitely be showing off the game at PAX East later this month — a show which, thank all that is holy, I actually will be going to.

[Read]

The EA earnings call from earlier this week fueled speculation about the fate of Green Day: Rock Band, thanks to its absence from the company’s projected release list for the year.

But MTV and Harmonix have put any fears of Green Day’s fate to rest, releasing the following statement: “The previously announced Green Day: Rock Band will be published by MTV Games and distributed by EA. Stay tuned for news of MTV Games’ other titles soon.”

So no worries, Green Day fans. You’ll still be getting your fix. Possibly as soon as June 1.

[via GameSpot]

Take this for what it’s worth, but GameStop has posted pre-order info for Green Day: Rock Band. It claims a ship date of June 1st, with pricing set at the standard retail rate: $60 for PS3 and 360, $50 for Wii.

GameStop is far from a perfect source with regard to stuff like this, but they’ve been known to get such things right in the past. I’ve asked MTV for a comment; I’ll let you know what I hear back.

UPDATE: Unsurprisingly, MTV’s not making any comments. I just heard back from a representative, who said, “We haven’t made any official announcements regarding Green Day: Rock Band release date or pricing as of yet.” So take the above with a grain of salt, ‘kay?

[Read, via RockBandAide]

I approve of this development. Newsarama has posted a nice, long interview with MTV Games senior VP Paul DeGooyer, and it includes some interesting new details about Green Day: Rock Band and the future of the Rock Band franchise.

The thing that most excites me about Green Day is this bit:

Nrama: Are we looking at any new features, similar to harmony being added in The Beatles?

DeGooyer: There’s a couple little things, I don’t know what we’ve announced yet. Harmony is going to be in it…

The band has always been heavily reliant on lovely pop harmonies, so it’s nice to have confirmation the game will exploit that. The interview doesn’t include a whole lot more details, but it does take a pretty serious look at why Green Day was chosen to follow up the Beatles in the next band-specific Rock Band release. And here DeGooyer shows what I think is a solid understanding of the band, saying, “The albums take this amazing trajectory that preserves their initial punk [ethic] but then expands into topics well beyond that. So from a creative standpoint it suited, we thought, a stand-alone game.”

DeGooyer also talks a great deal about other future projects — most significantly, that Green Day is  “of course not going to be our only game this year.” He also hints at new instruments, referencing “other types of experience with music.”  “There’s other ways to engage with music other than playing guitar or drums,” he says.

One other interesting bit centers around physical versus digital delivery for future projects. DeGooyer talks about how physical releases are good ways of adding new functionality, but then hints that future band-specific releases could be delivered via download only.

Really, the whole interview is an interesting read, and it wouldn’t be fair for me to basically quote the whole damn thing here, so hit the Read link for the rest of the story.

[Read]

Wow. Apparently I have more pull than I realized. When I wrote up the announcement for the new Green Day tracks that are hitting Rock Band next week, I said the following:

Dammit, if we don’t start getting some tracks from American Idiot I’m going to have to smack someone. Also acceptable: anything from Kerplunk! or most of Dookie.

Come on, people! I know the band wants to keep pushing the most recent stuff, but they’ve got a couple decades worth of stuff that’s as good (and often better). Make it happen. I have spoken.

In accordance with my wishes, my hitherto-unknown army of minions swiftly did just that. At the Spike TV VGAs on Saturday, Green Day made an appearance via satellite to announce Green Day: Rock Band.

It’ll be a standalone game arriving sometime next year for PS3, 360, and Wii, and will feature songs from “throughout their long, incredible career.” No word yet on track-list specifics, but the trailer features “American Idiot,” which to my mind bodes well for the inclusion of the whole album of the same name.

The press release is also careful to mention (several times, in fact) that the entire track list will be exportable to Rock Band and Rock Band 2, though of course you’ll miss out on the band avatars and the “select venues and art specific to the band’s history.” (Here’s hoping Berkeley’s legendary Gilman makes it in; it’d be a travesty if it didn’t.)

I gotta say Green Day was not the artist I expected to see following up The Beatles for an exclusive Rock Band project — but I also have to say, as someone who’s listened to the band off and on for something like 18 years now, I’m most definitely looking forward to it.

Now, pay attention, minions: If the track list does not include “Jesus of Suburbia,” “80,” and “One for the Razorbacks,” someone is getting shivved. Also: send money. I have spoken.

Check out the debut trailer after the break. Continue reading →