One turntable to rule them all: DJ Hero vs Scratch: The Ultimate DJ

by David Hinkle on May 27th 2009 1:45PM

Click image to compare

With two high profile DJ-'em-up games coming out in DJ Hero and Scratch: The Ultimate DJ, many are likely scratching their heads at which turntable and promised experience is going to be superior. Well, we can't comment on the latter (until E3, anyway), but we can take a look at the two competing controllers. We stacked them side-by-side for your viewing pleasure and compared all the known details in our gallery below. Enjoy!

Battle of the best turntable: DJ Hero vs Scratch: The Ultimate DJ

Tags: activision, dj-hero, genius-products, Microsoft, music, numark, peripherals, rhythm, scratch-the-ultimate-dj, Xbox-360

Reader Comments (45)

Someone read the engadget article finally? C'mon joystiq--you guys need to quit getting beat by those over diversified OTHER blogs. You're the experts--kotaku and engadget keep getting ahead of you and I don't like that cause, well, I like you guys.

lol...someone doesn't know that Joystiq is Engadget and Engadget is Joystiq...SOOPER NOOBER!!

yeah go to the top of the screen and look above the search button y'll see engadget and joystiq are all family.

Also, what are you talking about? There isn't any kind of comparison piece over at Engadget that I could find ...

Hi welcome to the internet Cloaker.

By the way it's not about the speed at which the article is delivered, it's HOW it's delivered to us. Sure other sites might beat Joystiq to the punch once in a while, but I prefer to get my news here since it's usually far more insightful and filled with humor.

This whole turntable games screams of, "meh" for me. Bring on the Flute Hero!!!

"Aqualung my friend, don't start away uneasy."

Playing the flute part in Aqualung would be quite a boring endeavor.

keyboard hero needs to come out first. then cowbell hero. because we all need more cowbell.

I am being from India and find it very much racial that no one is making a sitar hero.

im hoping for banjo hero

You know what, I know that theses games are comming out but if we're talking a turntable to rule them all, we need to consider the Beatmania IIDX controller for the ps2. Just the one that came with the game. Both of the controllers seem to have a better build quailty then the Beatmania IIDX controller but neither has as many buttons. If we started talking ASC (Arcade Style Controller) then both of these pale in comparison to the $200+ IIDX controller.

we have a winner, ladies and gentlemen.

Build quality & precision is what's important with this peripheral. The object of this game is to scratch, & to achieve this all that is needed is a turntable and one switch (crossfader). Adding any extra buttons would only be a gimmick. I'm happy the Numark controller is as clean & clutter free as it is.
The fact it is reversable kinda shows the thought that's gone into the design too, reverse switches play a major part in scratch DJ culture.

Scratch: The Ultimate DJ FTW...

Well i would say this. The controller was not a bad build. The turntable was hard to turn before modding but the buttons were just a few levels below the Sanwas used in the arcade machine. The Newmark controlelrs will probably have the best build quality. Also note that the CS Controller and AS Controller for IIDX are both reversable and for the time both were of top quality. Im just saying that if we compare a controller made for a ps2 game awhile ago to controllers out now, just know that the newer controllers will be built better.

I would love to have that ASC though, Sanwa buttons and then the same size turntable and optics used in the arcade...*drool*

>>Better build quality than Beatmania IIDX.

Haha. I've had my controller for about 4 years and still operates like new.

So how long before the FCC declares that both games have to be compatible with both turntables? I'll wait for that before I even think of buying one.

Has the FCC shown a history of doing this? For videogames? The FCC "shouldn't" have any jurisdiction here anyway.

I think he, however incorrectly, meant FTC.

Scratch looks better. Won't be getting either though.

Agreed on both counts.

Knowing Activision, they won't make the controllers cross compatible, unless forced to.

Here's the "one to rule them all" that seems to be conveniently forgotten everytime Joystiq posts a Scratch/DJH article

http://image1.play-asia.com/170/PA.04445.001.jpg

I already know which game is gonna "win" this DJ war... with Activision's massive marketing campaigns, DJ Hero will take the top spot in terms of sales. But I also know I'm going to prefer Scratch, mostly because it seems like it's being developed with both the Beatmania fans and actual DJ's in mind, instead of just the casual money-making audience.
I like how the Scratch turntable is representative of the more modern face of DJ-ing, in which everything is digital and the size of the turntable doesn't matter (heck, I have friends who use their laptop touch pads to scratch). That huge DJ Hero retro-table is decidedly old-school. Which I guess could be cool if you're into that kind of thing.

I like the Ultimate DJ one better.

I'll at least force myself to play whichever game has some World Class Wreckin' Cru. I've got my 1200cc's of Technique primed and ready.

"Calling DR. DRE to SURGERY!"

wow, i'm already sick of the DJ franchise and it hasn't even been released yet.

Scratch looks like it has the better controller (and the better soundtrack) but the retards out there who're STILL supporting Activion despite their clear intent to fucking kill the rhythm genre by putting out as many games as possible every month till it's stagnated will make sure that DJ Hero wins out in the end.

baaaaaaaah

Did I seriously just say 'Activion'? I meant Craptivisi- oh, uh, Activision

Craptivision is fine too.

I'm really digging the Scratch turntable.

Plus, the "____ Hero" game belongs to ActiBlizzard, so Scratch wins by default.

games*

I prefer LizzardVision to ActiBlizzard. I think it sounds cooler.

I still prefer the horrible, very-politically-incorrect Blacktivision. =)

FTC*

Sorry for the typo. I was distracted while I was typing. ^__^

@first post - joystiq went down hill. look at the breaking news section of the xbox area, its months out of date. From a "developer" point of view, its poor show.

Anyway, back to the topic.

Surely for any dj game you'll need a cross fader? Whether scratching or beatmixing its a requirement. Scratch DJ therefore wins plus you can change the turntable to be left or right handed.

I suspect Activision will win the overall battle. Look how long its taken people to realise rock band is better than GH:series.

More Sales Better game

Erm.... DJ Hero has both crossfader and left/right-handed adjustability, too, remember?

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/24/gametrailers-tv-promo-gives-a-look-at-dj-hero-peripheral/

Ah, hadn't seen that.

The pictures from this main article don't indicate as such but they're not great.

I therefore stand corrected :)

(Can we assume the dimensions aren't the same either as otherwise the DJ Hero one with cross fader will be massive)

bah, they won't let me put the universal "not equal to" symbol..

More Sales < > Better game

or

More Sales != better game.

(might work)

i want the creators of these games to answer this question.

why?

My point is that Joystiq should be getting the scoops posted here then before on engadget--one and the same, yes, but Video Game news needs to hit here first, you know what I mean? Just work it out with those guys that YOU guys get to post it first,, not be chasing the tail of the other blogs. The joystiq guys are more humorous, more engaging, I just like seeing them ahead of the curve cause I refer people to this website and they are always "blah blah blah kotaku blah blah blah engadget" etc etc.

As a owner of Numark's new NS7 I wouldn't be surprised if this is a solid build. The NS7 has truly impressed me on how well they put a quality product together.

The direct drive moving platters on the NS7 work like a charm almost as good as 1200's.

a touch sensitive turntable is what djs really need for a game. this controller is pretty much reliable if you ask me

i like the set up where the table is and the buttons

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One turntable to rule them all: DJ Hero vs Scratch: The Ultimate DJ

Battle of the best turntable: DJ Hero vs Scratch: The Ultimate DJ

Reader Comments (45)

Posted: May 27th 2009 1:52PM (Unverified) said

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