With the news that Green Day would be getting their own Rock Band game a la The Beatles, that made us wonder… what other muscians should get the Rock Band or Guitar Hero treatment?
In addition to The Beatles: Rock Band, we’ve gotten Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Guitar Hero: Metallica, Guitar Hero: Van Halen (out next week) as well as a live AC/DC Rock Band track pack.
And no offense to Green Day, but I wouldn’t put them on the same shelf as The Beatles. So with the mainstream rock trio getting their own full band game, it opens the door wide open for possibilities.
Here are a few we think could work:
The Who
Singer Roger Daltrey recently let it slip that they’re already working on something with Rock Band makers Harmonix, so it’s got to be a full band game like The Beatles. We can’t wait to see the trippy dreamscapes they’ll come up with for Tommy and Quadrophenia.
The Rolling Stones
The Beatles or The Rolling Stones? It’s a classic rock ‘n’ roll debate. If The Beatles got a game, it would make sense for The Stones to get one too. And unlike The Beatles, The Stones already have music appearing in both Rock Band and Guitar Hero. We say it’s only a matter of time before we see a virtual Mick Jagger struttin’ in a game.
Led Zeppelin
No “Stairway”?! Denied! There’s one band noticeably absent from all these music games, but we suspect there are licensing issues. Until Led Zeppelin realizes that music games are the hot ticket and a way to make their music relevant to young listeners, it could be a while before we see this one.
U2
I stopped listening to U2 several albums ago, but the Irish rockers are no doubt one of the biggest bands ever. They recently expressed interest in having their own band game, so we’ll soon see if Guitar Hero or Rock Band comes out on top.
Grateful Dead
If the legendary jam band got their own game, there would be plenty of Deadheads lined up to buy it. Not only do they have the catalog to support a full title, but the imagery. Their iconic artwork — the dancing bears, skull and roses, the Jester, Uncle Sam Skeleton, etc. — would be perfect for the game’s backgrounds.
Iron Maiden
As a metalhead, nothing would please me more than to rock out as Eddie, the band’s demonic mascot. Thankfully, Iron Maiden’s music appears in some games already, but the band’s elaborate stage set-ups could really work for their own title. And two words: The Trooper! We’ve got to teach these young kids to shred.
Jay-Z
We’ve finally got the first real hip-hop-dedicated game with DJ Hero, but we think it could be taken up a notch with a Rap Hero or Hip-Hop Hero starring Jay-Z. Jigga’s one of the most successful rappers of all time, and the game could easily have Beyonce, Eminem, Kanye and his other big-time associates appear in it as well. There’s already a hip-hop game called Def Jam Rapstar in the works, so it’s definitely doable.
Nirvana
While no longer making music, the classic grunge group certainly has enough hits to have their own game, which would prevent Courtney Love and the rest of the band members from suing Activision over singer Kurt Cobain’s likeness being used to sing No Doubt songs. The only thing is, if the game is biographical, it’d be awkward to portray, um, how the band split up. But we say don’t lie to the kids and make a dreamscape of Cobain floating up to heaven to meet Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin. Problem solved!
Coldplay
Yeah, I said it. Coldplay. A lot of people say they hate this band, but the British rockers somehow manage to sell a ton of albums, so somebody’s buying them. If Green Day gets their own game, why not Coldplay? Plus, we predict the first video game developer to make a game with a working keyboard peripheral is going to go gangbusters.
Lady Gaga (top photo)
Maybe we could wait for a few more albums, but Lady Gaga is so hot right now. Band Hero‘s covered pop music with Nelly Furtado and Taylor Swift, so a Lady Gaga game wouldn’t be a huge stretch as far as genres go. Also, it’d be interesting. Imagine all the ridiculous costumes you could choose for your Lady Gaga avatar and all the blood, fire and feathers that would be on stage.
What do you think?
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