Scratch: The Ultimate DJ deck ain't no half-steppin'

I'm sorry, I was mistaken

Welcome to 1997 folks.

Yea, cause the Beatmania controller was *totally* legitimate. >_>

Beatmania comparisons are ONLY valid if the turntable didn't have resistance built in and the buttons weren't more akin to keyboard clacking as opposed to soft hits of an Akai pad or an M-Audio trigger Finger.

But that's neither here nor there. What IS here is the fact that, as you mentioned, Beatmania came out in 1997. This is 2009. That means Konami had 12 fucking years to beat this game to the market. 12 years to make the Beatmania franchise more than a niche arcade title because only arcades which imported machines would know about this. 12 years to do anything but fuck up at EVERY POSSIBLE TURN to take Beatmania outside of Japan.

I love Beatmania, and Bemani in general, but you're defending by far the most incompetant goddam franchise on the planet. Beatmania had it's chance. If we're going to hold off on these games until Konami finally gets it right, Beatmania would be making it's first legitimate US and Europe debut as a PS4/Xbox 720 third generation title.

12 years waiting for Konami to bring this franchise to the US outside of test locations and a REALLY REALLY shitty PS2 mix.... 12 years of waiting for this to happen. Any claim Bemani fanboys have about how Konami invented this shit is lost in the simplest of questions... where is it? If it's so great AND first, where is it? Why am I still paying $90 to import the latest PS2 mix for my Japanese PS2 if Konami was so good at handling this brand and franchise?

@Sheppy

when are you going to shop elsewhere for your import games? $90 is idiocy. I used to get my bemani for 65 shipped from hong kong.

I don't know about you guys but I'm still importing IIdx games. There is something special about the music in those games.

@sweetjohnnycage

The latest version, beatmaniaIIDX16 EMPRESS, is more expensive than usual due to the fact that it's a 2-disc set with almost 200 playable songs. The second disc is a compilation of older version songs, spanning all 16 previous versions (counting substream. No that isn't a typo). It's the last PS2 version they're releasing, and as such, they went all out.

Konami? idiots, could have made a few billion dollars on guitars and dj sets but decided Dance Dance Revolution was enough outside of Japan...

Beatmania, Drummania, Guitar Freaks, Dance Freaks/Maniax, Keyboardmania, Pop 'n Music... these are all music games Konami created in 2000 or newer... but just sat on them. Even though they pump it out constantly now, they sat on DDR for a long time, too. Aside from a brief release of the original (and DDR USA), we hadn't had an official arcade release until SuperNOVA in 2006. Though, there were several home releases prior to that...

Even so, for all that Konami has done for the music genre, they really did jack squat outside of Asia. Which is a real shame, too.

@fundando: 70 new, original tracks per game since about IIDX 5th? Most (As in 80% or so) of them being good?

Maybe Konami will release "DJ Revolution" globally after at least two other franchises dominate, they can make all of the original mixes from terrible sounding covers, then leave out half of the features.

I was literally trying to turn my head to try to watch the gameplay while that DJ was talking.

I've seen some. It plays just like beatmania with some crossfading thrown in on the scratches. Doesn't seem as complicated as DJ Hero. Speaking of which, why the hell couldn't they make the crossfader snap to its neutral position on the DJ hero turntable? That thing is confusing as all hell. Scratch seems more hip-hop oriented than DJ Hero though where DJ hero is all over the place. Still don't know what the track list is on Scratch though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4svdh9PNIeI&NR=1

Looks pretty damn meh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2s_UdXY_1c&feature=related

Deaftly,

That didn't look like DJ'ing or fun....

Looks WAY better in the second one. The first video, I had seen a while back, and lost my interest for scratch. Glad I was able to see a better demonstration.

You're kidding, right? It looks a whole hell of a lot better than the DJ Hero controller. Only thing is, maybe it will also cost a whole hell of a lot more... ?

So this wins the 'DJ controller wars' by a mile - but, um, they don't seem to have an actual game for it yet. Maybe their game will also be more like DJing than Activision's... and if so, maybe it'll be less fun.

The DJ Hero controller looks more Authentic, In terms of size.

Think Korg DS-10. This thing looks very nice. it's an effing rhythm game, so how compelling do you want it's colored dots on tracks to be? You're blind, sir.

All I can say about the DJ Hero controller is: buttons on the records.

LOLWUT?


I mean, exactly.

Yeah, this looks like it could be used as a proper audio tool when plugged into a computer.
For example those beat pads look exactly the same as pads on actual sample decks, albeit with less buttons...
(If I called some things by the wrong names, feel free to correct me, I'm no musician)

" it looks like a children's toy compared to DJ Hero's device"

Actually, this looks much more like a real turntable than DJ Hero.

Doesn't every instrument from a rhythm game look like a kids toy?

Well, I don't know what DJ equipment you're talking about, but to me DJ Hero looks much more like the record-based setup we've had for years and years. Modern CD-based and computer-based DJ setups might look a bit more like Scratch, but they don't really have a standard 'look' to them, so it's hard to compare.

you call hitting pointers that plays chunks of mixes that someone else made, giving you ZERO control over the thing that DJ's actually do, innovation? You're a retard.

I'm not saying this game will give you that either, but you need to take the Acticock out of your mouth until you actually know what you're talking about.

I know, right? DJ Hero looks more like the old school turn tables we used to use. With buttons on the records.

blah blah blah, people said the same think about Rock Band and still do, but you won't hear Harmonix complaining with their few million in sales (vs 10+mil for GH) and countless reviews praising their products. Point: Quality will sell. If this game has it, it will do just fine.

Rock Band didn't sell only because of quality, but for two other factors before the actual game even came out:

- massive marketing
- existing known developer => fan hype

This game will have neither. Particularly marketing - I mean, look at this promo video. Not exactly trailer of the year.

Even if it's a great game I really doubt it will sell 1/10 as much as DJ Hero. Hope I'm wrong though!

Too bad Technics stopped supporting their digital tables. The DZ1200s were great tables, I have a pair. But there's no more production, and no more firmware updates. Makes me very sad.

Well, back to Pioneer.

dosn't look more realistic to me it looks like beatmania. i know my turntables dont come with mpc pads and the cross fader is way to small. if you want 2 track and the ability to pix them your self you want to be a real dj. there would be no way to regulate score and keep it simple enough to be fun if they let you do everything your self. i mean when u play guitar hero the guitar parts are pre played arn't they.

It's called a short throw. It's for scratching. That's why it's hard to scratch with a trance-style mixer.

Lol, it's like asking Guitar Hero to allow you to play all possible notes.

It should though.

You know, there are actual DJ controllers that you can buy for your computer. You can mix any songs that you want, any way that you want. They're more realistic. And they're cheaper than this game. I hate to be one of those "get a real instrument" people, but if you're complaining that this game isn't close enough to the real thing...maybe you should just go with the real thing.

Not until after Pinball Wizard comes out