DJ Hero sales 'modest,' analyst says; Activision refuses to comment

Wow, these sales must REALLY have them hyped up about their next peripheral based game, Tony Hawk: good RIDdancE.

$120 is completely ridiculous for a single player game. I paid that much for the Rock Band 2 set.

Why is this a surprise? Large portions of the country don't really even know or care what this type of music is. Outside of the younger group, and people on the coasts, a DJ is someone who plays music at a radio station. And DJ Jazzy Jeff was in a group with the Fresh Prince back in the 80's.

Wow, these sales should REALLY have them hyped up over their next peripheral based game, TONY HAWK: good RIDdancE.

i wish my job allowed me to simply "change my prediction" when my previous predictions were all proven dead wrong

"showing price sensitivity" = "not being retards"

With that GameStop commercial I'd be surprised if this didn't sell more than MW2

While I'd like to get this game I just can't bring myself to do it. I'd rather get Modern Warfare 2 and Assassin's Creed 2, for the same price!
Maybe if this game had released in September or early October, I could have budgeted it in, but with so many other big titles coming out DJ Hero will just have to wait.

ok, after my Modern Warfare 2 and Assassin's Creed 2 pre-orders pay off, then this is next on my list. Demoed it at Gamestop, and I absolutely love it.

i know, but i miss the structure of picking individual tracks to work on and you would combo along the track, it had more of a futuristic rail shooter vibe.

It's a great game and it's getting some of the best reviews for a "Hero" game in a long long time. This is not a lackluster game at all, so you can't blame the game for the "modest" sales.

First, it's unfamiliar territory for most consumers who know Guitar Hero/Rock Band. Yes it's a music game, but it's an entirely new kind of music game for most consumers. Second, the market is flooded with music games thanks mostly to the extreme milking of Guitar Hero, and to a lesser extent, Rock Band. Consumers are overwhelmed and a bit confused about all of the options. "Guitar Hero 5 comes only in a guitar bundle, so does that mean it only supports the guitar? I thought Guitar Hero 4 supported the band, but I can't find that anywhere, only a game called 'World Tour.' I guess I'll have to wait for Band Hero, which will support the full band and will surely bring the rock. Wait, what the fuck? Taylor Swift?"

The problem is that DJ Hero is getting lost in Activision's own pile of shit. It deserves better.

Don't worry Activision...just release the DJ Hero Soundtrack to iTunes for digital download. The Daft Punk tracks are worth a fortune alone...

Xav, nice article. Thanks for focusing on facts and not the usual blogger drama.

I think people want to give it a try before they buy it. You know what you're getting with Guitar Hero/Rock Band, but the DJ controls aren't exactly widely known to the everyman. I think after Christmas sales should steadily increase.

It's a niche product. The word "Hero" doesn't mean instant money machine.

I think that the "guitar" part of guitar hero is played out, DJ Hero is not the case. I think DJ Hero is a innovative, and new in it's kind. I think the mashups are Excellent!
I think the game may not be doing as well as Activision planned mainly due to it's price. Also, Activision also mentioned that the peripheral would only be usable for dj hero, where as guitar hero, you can use guitar for rockband- it feels more like controller, rather than a one-use peripheral.

I played this game in gamecrazy and it just made my hands hurt. And I've been playing expert on guitar hero/rock band for years!!

Am I the only one who thinks the switch is really loose? I'm not sure if it was from the model from gamecrazy, but everytime i'd move the switch from left 2 right on the green/blue lines, i'd usually go to far and there was the slightest twitch in the switch to tell me that i went to far.

I gotta say that this is not surprising in the least. The price point, the predicted apprehension from a completely different type of music people generally aren't familiar with, and the extreme amounts of disdain for Activision flooding the market guaranteed that the initial sales would be pretty lousy.

And as said, this game deserves so much better. They took the high budget from Activision and put it to real use, getting experts on the mixing team to create a soundtrack that I'm frikkin' addicted to, and that's not even getting into the gameplay; I played this for four hours straight when I was at Best Buy, and I could play it for much, much longer. I wish I had the money for it.

Fortunately, they actually have the right idea in marketing the game: put playable versions in as many game/electronic stores nationwide, prominently displaying them to grab as much attention. People will play it, and most of their doubts will be alleviated, unless they just genuinely don't like the type of music or gameplay it provides. Honestly, only a few kids really wanted to play it besides me while I was there, though it stole many a glance from passersby, and people who seemed genuinely interested in it. Just give it some time.

Also, I'm going to punch the next person IRL who does a "(random word) Hero" joke.

This game is kickass,and I like pretty much EVERY mix on it,including the Mix pack they have out for purchase.

Perfect example of milking a (cash) cow till it runs dry......

Not surprised. I actually really want to play the game, but screwed if I'm paying that much for it. It's possible I'd have been tempted in June or something, but there's just way too many good games coming out that don't cost me an arm and a leg.

And by the time I have the spare cash next year I'll just be thinking "hmm, may as well wait for DJ Hero 2", which my opinion will then change again when there's Modern Warfare 3 or whatever coming out a couple months after

I love how all you Americans are complaining about a $120 price tag when I only got it for that price in a sale, down from $175.

Anyway, this game is awesome. But it now pl0x. Give it a fair go.

Damn! There is a soundtrack CD? I can't find it anywhere on iTunes.

I think the problem is, besides the price, there basically was no electronic dance music.

In regions where DJing is popular, most of what is played is not hip-hop and mash-ups of (old) pop songs, but electronic dance music. House, techno, trance, electro, etc.

Go to DJMag.com, and look at their top 100 DJs. Yeah, it's just a popularity contest, but that's sort of the point.

Out of the top ten, they've got 1 song (From Tiesto), and while they do have David Guetta, they made it DLC. And when you look at the whole 100 DJs, there's only a smattering.

How did they not realize that gamers were going to look at this and say...hmm 1 game for 120...or 2 games for less than 120...(on steam)...

Especially when people are pinching pennies like crazy right now.

Impressive, most impressive.

A friend and avid Beatmania player swears by DJ Hero, thinks it's one of the best Rhythm type games he's ever played. I think that says a lot.

I'll pick it up one of these days. Just too many games coming out this month. :(

I bought the game, and it's nowhere near as fun as guitar hero and the controller isn't all that great.

It's too much work. The remixes are great to listen to the concept of a dj as aa game is whack and here's why. Everyone can identify being a rockstar ie. be a guitar hero, but a dj? who wants to be a dj? Dj's are handed a job to rock a party but it's work and why be reminded of work when you want to play a game? I don't mind it for the first hour or so but you never go beyond the same 'scratching' technique over and over again. It's like whackamole. It's fun for 2 mins. Ahh well, better luck next time activision and enjoy paying your artists out of your pockets because this thing is dead. You were better off letting the original developer do it's thing and waited how that worked out.

Does anyone know how limited this Renegade edition is? Thanks.

in my opinion, "Scratch: Ultimate DJ" is a much better game. It was created by Numark, which gives it a leg up to begin with, but it also has much more realistic gameplay. DJ Hero has you using the crossfader sparingly, and simply at that. Also the turntablism is over-shadowed by the buttons on the "record". "Scratch" however, provides a better experience, with the deck actually spinning and topped with a vinyl-feeling "record", similar to using Numark's actual CDX turntable. The game also requires realistic use of the crossfader, for cutting scratches together, rather than just switching from one track to another as DJ Hero does. Overall, I'd go with the game made by the experienced professionals at Numark.

I should also add that in "Scratch: Ultimate DJ", the buttons you have to press are more along the lines of actual beat-making, as Numark has incorporated the actual pads from their MPC into the game deck. Again, much more realistic that DJ Hero.