Activision and FreeStyleGames aren't wasting any time in expanding
DJ Hero's already fairly expansive 93-mix-long track list. The "Extended Mix Pack 01" DLC will be added to the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Store today and includes the following two mixes for 480
and $5.99, respectively (and not sold separately):
- "All Of Me" by 50 Cent featuring Mary J. Blige vs. "Radio Ga Ga" by Queen
- "DARE" by Gorillaz vs. "Can't Truss It" Performed by Public Enemy
In a recent interview with
IGN, FreeStyleGames' Chris Lee explained that the $3-per-track price can be attributed to the extra work and licensing required to synthesize the two songs in each mix. The Extended Mix mash-ups will be making their way to Wii sometime in late November -- around the same time the game's second DLC bundle, the "David Guetta Mix Pack," is scheduled for release on PSN and XBLM. That pack, which is slated for November 24, incorporates three of Guetta's songs: "When Love Takes Over," "On The Dance Floor," and "Sexy Bitch," which was presumably written about us.
Rawr.
{ Oct 29th 2009 at 1:20PM } 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Darth Bradwart, Dark Lord of the Sith @ Oct 29th 2009 1:24PM
Three dollars a track? Are they crazy?
Bobby Kotick 2: Echoes @ Oct 29th 2009 2:02PM
Take a good look. It also says that you can't get them seperately. That means if you just wanted the All of Me vs Radio Ga Ga, then you MUST buy the other one as well. What's that? You don't like the other one? Well fuck you. You're gonna buy both of them because we say so.
Ain't I a dick?
Darth Bradwart, Dark Lord of the Sith @ Oct 29th 2009 2:04PM
Actually, I ain't gonna get either one, because I didn't give my cash to Craptivision...
I Win!
VaultBoy @ Oct 29th 2009 6:23PM
The reason in this case that the tracks are only available as a pack is likely that they were only submitted to MS as a set for pre-order DLC. All DLC has to go through the submission process, and rather than risk the tracks failing on their own, they probably just put a price point on the pack that had already been approved to make the most of the submission. This is the way the industry works folks.
fundando @ Oct 29th 2009 1:25PM
This was the free gamestop Preorder DLC. I downloaded this at launch
BukChoi @ Oct 29th 2009 1:31PM
dlc already coming out 2 days after launch?
VaultBoy @ Oct 29th 2009 4:03PM
Didn't Beatles Rock Band have DLC the same week it released?
Fane [Grammar Police - Power Of Pedantry] @ Oct 29th 2009 7:26PM
Just one song, and only on 360; it was a special case (I think the proceeds went to charity).
Kizzle @ Oct 29th 2009 1:32PM
LMAO.
Once again - fuck you, Activision.
Beatles Rock Band DLC cost a ton to develop as well, but - holy crap! - they didn't raise prices. While it's obviously not the same process, the general principle is the same - development costs rose significantly, but only one of the companies raised prices.
Blaggers @ Oct 29th 2009 1:40PM
You can't compare this to Rock Band or Guitar Hero tracks. All that happens there is that the instruments have note charts created for them - hard work to be sure, but I think the pricing is just about right (for Rock Band at least, I'm not familiar with Guitar Hero DLC). Essentially, nothing new is created. DJ Hero is different - not only are they creating note charts, but they're creating custom music especially for the game. These things take time, effort and, yes, money, but remixes don't grow on trees, and it's not as easy as pushing a button to convert to songs into one.
Shadsy @ Oct 29th 2009 1:48PM
And of course, they can much more easily make a Band Hero version of 2 Become 1 than actually make two songs into one.
PR0F3TA (PSN - PROPHETA) @ Oct 29th 2009 2:20PM
@Blaggers
O RLY? cause last time i checked The Beatles DLC is going to have UNIQUE "dreamscape" sequences which i'm guessing takes a lot more work then getting permission to mix 2 songs together.
3 dollar a song is a joke, on both the idiots who bought the game and are going to buy the tracks and on activision who continue to come up with bullshit excuses on why WE should pay more because THEY think they know whats best for us
BukChoi @ Oct 29th 2009 4:06PM
its the rappers
more bling for their teeth
Hafkie @ Oct 29th 2009 5:20PM
First, they have to pay royalties for two songs, not just one. Then they have to have a DJ compose the music, and they have to give him/her royalties too. All of that happens BEFORE the mix even hits FreeStyleGames' development studio for note charting, editing, animations, and play testing.
Harmonix having dreamscapes doesn't really add to the cost, as once they have the songs, everything is in house from there. On top of that, they are reusing some dreamscape elements from the disc, which is cutting down on extra development. All in all, two guys, a case of Dr. Pepper, and 2-4 hours is all it takes to make a few dreamscapes, especially since they have all of the materials there already. And as they are all under post-production work, they don't have any royalties or fees.
I'd say $3 a song is pretty damn reasonable considering the fact that these are all original mixes and the royalties are a bitch to deal with. You people are making a mountain out of a mole hill.
Shadsy @ Oct 29th 2009 5:29PM
PR0F3TA, I'm by no means someone who wants to defend Activision (proud Rock Band 2 owner), but again, you're paying for the rights to two songs, plus the effort DJs put into mixing them together in a way that doesn't suck. And that puts them a single dollar above the tracks for The Beatles: Rock Band. Surely, from that perspective, that's a reasonable charge.
Now it might not be worth buying at $3, and it could cost them in the long run for charging that much for it. But it's a completely understandable price given the mixing labor, the cut of the money given to each music group, plus the extra money Activision keeps for its Scrooge McDuck vaults.
Harmonix is going to have a tough time making staying in the black with the effort it's putting in. They have a much better price, especially for the Abbey Road medley, but it's not necessarily the fiscally wisest. A couple Harmonix people have said that making the DLC is insanely cost-expensive, and they'll only bother making more if the DLC sells well. At least with DJ Hero's higher price point, they're going to have a better chance of recouping the money, even if it sells less.
Let everyone else decide if they want to buy them or not. I don't have DJ Hero, and I wouldn't get them if I did. And it's probably a dumb move on their part. But $3 is, from a recouping-the-costs-of-production point of view, totally reasonable.
gwangi @ Oct 29th 2009 1:33PM
Price is probably due to them not having any competition in the DLC market. Just like Guitar Hero DLC was more expensive before Rock Band came out.
baby sea tuna @ Oct 29th 2009 1:33PM
Same Hero name, same stupid forced-pack DLC. Oh, Activision, will you never learn?
PedoJokerBear [Planeteer | Power of Gall Bladder] @ Oct 29th 2009 2:41PM
same bat channel
Jack Tretton @ Oct 29th 2009 5:50PM
/sound of burgess meredith's penguin laughing
Blaggers @ Oct 29th 2009 1:37PM
The price is justified, and the people who disagree underestimate the time, effort and skill required to create a high-quality mix.
Shadsy @ Oct 29th 2009 1:44PM
That's true. Making a mix takes a lot more time and skill than adding note tracks to existing masters. Considering how much DJs get paid to do it live, then also considering you're technically paying for the royalties for two songs on top of the manpower...
THE HEAVY @ Oct 30th 2009 4:41AM
While I do agree with your statement, I think if the price was lower, they would sell more tracks, and would make up for it with the extra quantity sold.
Blaggers @ Oct 30th 2009 1:30PM
That's true in theory, but you could apply that reasoning to any sort of commercial product - apples, for example. The difference is that apples don't require you to already have another product to enjoy them. DJ Hero DLC sales are capped at the number of people who own the base game, which Activision have already predicted to be a number that slowly grows over time.
Nicknin10do @ Oct 29th 2009 1:42PM
I cab see that the price makes sense, 2 songs they had to purchase and to mix, least its not a full out 4 dollars.
Wiseman_2 @ Oct 29th 2009 1:43PM
You are all missing the point a bit here. They are desecrating Radio Ga Ga!
zero2dash @ Oct 29th 2009 1:48PM
Adam Lambert already desecrated Queen; Activision is just finishing them off.
Traceur_Ryuk [All Digital until December] (PSN: Ryuk_shinigami) @ Oct 29th 2009 3:32PM
Agreed. Adam Lambert destroyed Queen just as this guy destroyed Eleanor Rigby. American Idol has to be the worst show on television.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlsE97oPJYc
The only decent cover of a Queen song is this, and I hate Pink
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fdM1pB1rKg
Michael Winte @ Oct 29th 2009 1:44PM
You guys do realize there is much more involved with getting these songs right? First off they need get the license for TWO songs instead of one then they need to get a DJ to actually make the mix. This on top of the regular cleaning up audio, note tracking and testing. Yea the prices are higher than Rockband or Guitar Hero DLC but there are actual legit reasons for that.
VaultBoy @ Oct 29th 2009 5:58PM
Hey! Don't come around here making sense! There is no room for that on the anti-activision bandwagon. Come back when you have some generic hatred for the number one publisher, unpleasant sexual directions for their CEO, or generally want to blindly bash Guitar Hero. Beyond that there is no room for dissenting opinion on the Joystiq blog. You'll see when this comment is voted down...
Apollo @ Oct 29th 2009 1:46PM
COMING UP, IT'S COMING UP, IT'S COMING UP!
IT'S DARE!
OH!
ChuckBartowski @ Oct 29th 2009 6:25PM
fucking love that song!
xbit @ Oct 29th 2009 8:30PM
You bastard. I was all ready to pass up on this until you reminded me of how good Dare is. :(
Reboot @ Oct 29th 2009 1:47PM
Are any of the mixes used in DJ Hero available for download as a .mp3?
Orion @ Oct 29th 2009 2:11PM
I wish. If Daft Punk released an album of their mixes from this game, I wouldn't feel so tempted to buy this.
I'm hoping DJ Hero 2 comes out soon so i can pick this up. I'm not a cheap skate when it comes to games, but I'll never spend $120 on a title that will be obsolete and worthless in less than a year.
Jack Tretton @ Oct 29th 2009 5:54PM
"I'm hoping DJ Hero 2 comes out soon..."
Hey, it's the "Hero" franchise, you'll have it by next summer.
Fane [Grammar Police - Power Of Pedantry] @ Oct 29th 2009 7:49PM
Oh, it won't take anywhere near that long.
DJ Hero 3 will be out by then.
Discotheque @ Oct 29th 2009 1:55PM
I'm not a fan of Dave Guetta. But you'd think they would put in "Love is Gone" out of all his crap songs that one is at least...good. And it was stuck in my head for a long time.
Mint @ Oct 29th 2009 6:45PM
I would love the stuff he did as Africanism. Hard vs Summer Moon would be awesome.
hdcase @ Oct 29th 2009 2:00PM
I don't necessarily have a problem with the price per track, but I wish they weren't bundling them together like that.
fffunfarm06 @ Oct 29th 2009 2:30PM
david guerra? omg he is pretty amazing. or maybe i just love techno
dark_inchworm (stronger than never, ever before) @ Oct 29th 2009 2:31PM
Guerra? I take it you had Vida on the mind.
scubaEnormous @ Oct 29th 2009 2:36PM
Why isn't "The World is Mine" included in the David Guetta pack?!
jbentertainment00 @ Oct 29th 2009 3:14PM
well how about I dont care how hard it is, All that hard work will be for nothing if I don't buy it...
5 dollars for 2 songs is ridiculous
Once I play out the 93, I'm trading it in
I'm having fun with it now, but it's more like a gimmick to show my friends..then what? Can they keep this fresh & new
Traceur_Ryuk [All Digital until December] (PSN: Ryuk_shinigami) @ Oct 29th 2009 3:23PM
I don't understand why you guys hate Activision so much. Hating Activision just for the sake of hating Activision is worse than Activision.
(I don't think I have ever said Activision so much in one post before)
jarhead906 @ Oct 29th 2009 3:27PM
I would like to punch any individual that purchases these. Any "DLC" that comes before ~2-3 month mark is ridiculous. Music "DLC", I admit, is different but not when it comes a mere two days after launch.
Christian @ Oct 29th 2009 4:11PM
Games are finished well before the game launches. At least a couple weeks for the discs to get made, shipped, etc. Plenty of time to make 2 DLC songs. This is the case for most rhythm games. The time needed to make a DLC track is much less than the time to make, say, an RPG addon to a game.
(I understand that this was always planned on being DLC and was possibly done before the game went gold. I am not addressing this specific case, but rather the general case of DLC and rhythm games.)
KonArtist @ Oct 29th 2009 6:47PM
@jarhead906:
You do realize that Rockband 1 had 15 DLC songs available on the first day it launched, right?
I would rather they have the option of purchasing extra tracks right away then jack up the price of the game to an even more ridiculous amount.
Phish @ Oct 29th 2009 3:43PM
i am fine with the pricing as long as any future songs not specifically done for the game are cheaper then the mixes that are made for the game.
Taiko Drum Grandmaster @ Oct 29th 2009 3:38PM
Well, the game is awesome, and well worth a purchase...but the DLC? I don't know at that price point.
I got those 2 free from GameStop, and they're both really good.
jahd5000 @ Oct 29th 2009 4:02PM
Im only commenting because when i read the Sexy btich and Rawr thing i just felt like i needed to.
LMAO