Why Harmonix did Rock Band: Green Day after the Beatles

Some people were surprised that Harmonix, producers of the Rock Band series of games, would tackle Green Day's catalogue after creating a game devoted to the single most influential band of all time, The Beatles. In a recent article, the company explained:

We were pleased with the performance of Beatles: Rock Band but we were expecting higher sales, Our core audience of 16 to 34-year-old males are much more familiar with Green Day music than The Beatles. This isn't a band that has been around for a short period -- they've been going 21 years. They have a great history. It is in fact a much wider audience than some people might give them credit for. Green Day probably has a much higher awareness than perhaps The Beatles did.

The new game will drop on June 8, 2010.