Too expensive? DJ Hero sales ‘modest’

While there’s no hard numbers, an analyst over at Capital Markets has called the sales of DJ Hero “modest.” Usually you want phrases like “brisk pace” and “exceeding expectations” when you release big ticket games like DJ Hero, but it doesn’t seem to be happening here.

You already know why: the game is too expensive. It’s asking a lot of consumers to spend at least $120 on a video game ($200 for the special edition), the genre of which may be played out, when the economy still hasn’t picked up for the average person yet.

Or maybe the DJ culture isn’t as attractive as the whole rock and roll culture?

It should be noted that the game isn’t necessarily bad, with our own Greg Kumparak saying it “doesn’t suck horribly.” High praise from the big man.

I also don’t recall seeing a big marketing campaign behind the game. Maybe people just don’t know enough about it?

Whatever the reason, the game isn’t quite a huge hit.

Britain opens its first rehab clinic for gamers

Sufferers spend days at a time glued to their computer screens - going without food, sleep, or any social interaction. As a result they suffer malnutrition, relationship-breakdown and postural problems.

A rehab clinic in Somerset has now opened its doors to people with serious gaming addictions.

The centre will adapt its Minnesota Method Twelve-Step programme, which it normally uses to treat people addicted to drugs, drink and gambling, to treat gamers that exhibit similar behaviour.

Patients at the clinic will take part in group therapy, video sessions and therapeutic tasks including vacuuming and washing up.

According to The Telegraph: “Sufferers spend days at a time glued to their computer screens - going without food, sleep, or any social interaction. As a result they suffer malnutrition, relationship-breakdown and postural problems.”

Brian Dudley, the centre’s chief executive told the The Telegraph that he believed between five to ten per cent of the nation know someone addicted to an online game.

Dudley believes that the rise and rise of online games such as World of Warcraft, which requires players to invest large amounts of time to progress, has triggered this new addiction.

With the recent release of Championship Manager, there are sure to be bleary-eyed, pale-skinned addicts across the country that don’t know what day it is. If this sounds like you, contact the centre now.

Left 4 Dead 2 demo now available for Xbox Live Gold members

Previously available for pre-orders only, Left 4 Dead 2's demo is now on Xbox Live for all Gold subscribers, because taking demos away from Silver members is a great way to make Gold appear more valuable than it is. The demo should give you a good idea of what to expect in Valve's soon-to-be successful zombie sequel -- more of the same, but even better.

At the time of writing, I can see the demo on Xbox Live, but I keep getting an error message. Either that means too many people are downloading it, or Microsoft has screwed up for everyone as usual. In any case, it's there, but you might have to be patient.

Now I will continue getting myself excited for the game.

Sony PSP Go sells just 28,000 on first day in Japan

The Sony PSP Go, the company's great hope of reviving its handheld gaming fortunes, appears to have fallen short of expectations after sales figures revealed a meagre 28,000 units were shifted in Japan on the first day.

The console, which ditches the unpopular UMD format for a 16GB hard-drive and downloadable games, hasn't performed nearly as well on home soil as the first two incarnations of the PSP. The original PlayStation portable sold 171,293 on day one in the land of the rising sun, with the PSP 2000 shifting a lofty 130,000 handheld beauties.

The good news for Sony is that the PSP Go performed 28-times better in Japan than it did in Australia, where it flogged, yes you guessed it, 1,000 consoles.



We don't have any UK (or US) figures yet, but we'd imagine the lofty price tag of £200 means it's unlikely to have performed any more triumphantly.

Rumor: Walmart selling $199 Xbox 360 with $100 gift card on Saturday?

Well what have we here? It seems that a “retail tipster” sent Kotaku the following inventory screen showing this potentially enticing deal: an Xbox 360 Arcade system for $199 “with $100 GC.” Let’s pretend for fun that “GC” means “gift card” shall we?

You’ll also notice a few other pretty aggressive deals: 42-inch TV for $498, HP laptop for $298, Sony Blu-ray player for $148, and so on and so forth.

This is still all in the rumor phase, although there’s apparently an official announcement expected tomorrow. The above screenshot looks plausible, too, I suppose.

QVC selling Wii bundle for $80-$140 more than you ought to pay

I think we’ve learned something today: not to buy stuff off the TV. QVC was selling, last night, a Nintendo Wii, Go Play Circus Star Games, and a bunch of accessories (golf club, tennis racket, etc.) QVC wanted $362.97 for the bundle, but if you look at the retail price for all this, it comes out to $239.97. Yes, that’s a $140 premium. For what?

To be fair, QVC later slashed the price of the little bundle to $318.20, which is still a hot $80 more than retail.

Never mind the fact that QVC is selling the bundle for that price, the real question is: who’s dumb enough to pay hand over fist for the bundle? And who still buys stuff from these channels?

Outrage!

Baby and Me for Wii to feature doll controller accessory

Shocked? Not me. The constant one-upsmanship inherent in the weirder-than-weird world of Wii accessories and software will never, ever, ever end. Take this new entrant, due out in Australia next month. It’s called Baby and Me and features, you guessed it, an actual doll with a snap-in port for a Wii controller.

Oh, and there’s also Balance Board support so you can rock your baby to sleep and whatnot.

Your baby reacts by giggling, gurgling or crying through the Wii remote
Ten Baby Mode games including feed baby & send baby to sleep
Eight Play Mode games including rattle, catch, clap & balloons
Balance Board support: rock baby to sleep, burp baby, teach baby to walk
Customise baby with new clothes, accessories and playrooms

If the included baby isn’t to your liking, the game also ships with a pink Wii Remote holster which allows you to attach it to your dog or your little brother or an adult-sized doll – sky’s the limit here, folks. As if there are any limits to the Wii any more.

Star Trek, Transformers 2 Xbox 360 bundles on the way to the UK

There’s two new Xbox 360 bundles coming your way, UK. To mark the arrival of Transformers 2 and Star Trek to DVD (and Blu-ray), Gem and Paramount pictures have put together these blurry bundles.

The bundles are largely identical, and both include an Xbox 360 Elite, an extra controller, and the movie on a USB drive. No DVD for you, friends.

Paramount hasn’t said whether or not these bundles will be released outside of the UK.

And if you do live in the UK, keep your eyes peeled because the release date hasn’t been revealed, nor has the the price.

I’ve seen neither movie, but I’m going to assume Star Trek is better, just because Transformers 2 is, by all accounts, garbage.

Borderlands patched, still stay off multiplayer though!

As you might have heard, Borderlands has a nasty bug. It only affects players that go into online play right now, so it’s pretty clear what you should do if you care about y

our game–stay off multiplayer!

Basically what can happen (not all players are affected) is that when your leave a multiplayer game your characters stats will be wiped. You’ll keep you money and your weapons, but the weapons proficiencies and skill points that you built up will be lost. The characters name will also be set to its default. It’s pretty serious, in a game-breaking sort of way. The issue is that not only do you lose your skills points but if you are far enough into the game that this matters then the loss of those skills will be damaging enough that you can’t really keep playing. Plus at that point the jump from one level to the next is much more than it is earlier in the game.

Giant Bomb has details on the 10/30 patch. A number of issues were addressed, but the lost skill points and corrupt save files that some users are encountering were not.

Supposedly the issue isn’t too widespread, but a look online would suggest otherwise.

And here is a shot from one of my profiles:

 Personally, I saw the patch this morning, assumed multiplayer was safe, and hopped on. And, yes, all my skill points were lost. I have other profiles, but this is still very disappointing. This happened on the Xbox 360, but all versions are affected.

Bioshock 2 video preview

 I’ve been told that I need to play the original Bioshock. I missed out on it when it first came out, but picked it up on Steam a while back and just never played it. I’ve been told it’s a great game, but I haven’t had the time to check it out yet. Guess I should get to it, since the hands-on videos are already coming out for the sequel.


The preview video that IGN published shows some basic gameplay, graphic examples, and some of the new combat styles. It’s interesting to see how they’ve overhauled the graphics engine, and added some combat options that weren’t available before. All in all, Bioshock 2 is looking to be very compelling game, and could end up being the hottest game of the holiday season.

The Nintendo DSi XL shows its stuff in front of the camera

Question: Are standard DS & DSi games going to look pixelated and stretched on the DSi XL’s 4.2-inch screen? Idk. But the screen is huge when compared to the standard DSi. Check out the Japanese TV debut after the jump.

Can we blame Nintendo’s profit drop on the lack of gamer’s games?

It hasn’t been the best couple of months for Nintendo. Profits were down for the six months leading up to September, which the company blames on the strong yen and the Wii’s price cut. Net sales, too, were down, some 34.5 percent.

Fair enough, and those reasons are likely to explain Nintendo’s situation, but is there something else going on? I know Pat Buchanan, the older gentlemen that he is, always uses the phrase “the chickens have come home to roost,” and I think it’s applicable here. Perhaps Nintendo’s strategy of selling the Wii to the “casual” crowd (housewives and the like, to simplify this) has finally run out of gas?

How many games were released for the Wii that appeal to the more hardcore among us? I’m thinking back to all the games I’ve played this year—Street Fighter IV, Resident Evil 5, Bioshock, Fallout 3, Race Driver: Grid, Forza Motorsport 3, and maybe one or two others that I’m forgetting—and none of them were available for the Wii. Now, I consider myself a hardcore gamer only in the sense that I’m not going to play something like Mario Party or some sing-along game; I’m not hanging out on NeoGaf debating the merits of Xbox Live vs PSN. So that’s where I’m coming from.

The point? I would say that there have been next to no games released for the Wii that interested me, a gamer who’d rather sit there and try to 100 percent Resident Evil 5 (well, Resident Evil 4… Resident Evil: 5 had too many things that annoyed me) than lose five pounds playing Wii Fit. I’m a gamer, not someone looking to have a fun evening with my grandkids.

I think that’s what it comes down to: Nintendo has made, if I may, mad money over the past few years by positioning the Wii as an entertainment device for the whole family. That’s all well and good, but when Single Professional Woman buys a Wii so she can host a Wii Sports party once a month, what are the odds that she’s going to keep buying game after game?

That’s not to say Nintendo is doomed, of course. I played the New Super Mario Brothers Wii a few weeks ago, and I can honestly say, “Now there’s a game that’ll appeal to the ‘hardcore’ among us.”

But what do I care? I’m most concerned with leveling my warlock in WoW.

Possible Wii 2 specs leaked? 1080p, Blu-ray, 2010

Take this rumor like you would any other Internet rumor. You never know though, some of this info is new and might be true. A French website, Logic-Sunrise, is reporting from a very reliable source within the bowels of Nintendo that an update is played for 2010 and it’s going to be a big one. Well, big for Nintendo and on par with the current offerings from Sony and Microsoft, that is.

Logic-Sunrise translated by Google,

The console will carry a Blu-Ray, the primary function is to discourage piracy.

It must therefore bear display 720P and 1080P, both for broadcasting video Blu-Ray for games.

A release date for 2010 is planned.

The output will be worldwide, orchestrated the same day in all countries.

A bid to take over your Wii first generation is planned. (All your bases are belong to us?)

Everyone probably agrees that the Wii is past its prime technology-wise. Hell, it was sort out of date when it was released, but that hasn’t stopped it from winning the console war. Maybe the recent Wii price drop shows that an update isn’t that far off.

DSi LL: Nintendo confirms, shows new big-screen DSi (Update: Europe gets it in 2010. More pictures)

So the rumors about Nintendo releasing a new DSi with a bigger screen (we reported Monday and Tuesday) were true. Big N officially announced a new DSi in Tokyo today, the so-called DSi LL [JP]. It has a 4.2-inch screen, will be released on November 21 in Japan and is priced at $220. Buyers will initially be able to choose between brown, red and white versions.

You’ll get two pens with the handheld. One is thicker and 129.33mm long, the thinner model is 96mm long. There’ll also be three DSiWare games pre-installed (two brain-training games and a dictionary).

 

The DSi that’s currently on the market has a 3.25-inch screen (the DS Lite only had a 3-inch screen). Nintendo says the DSi LL is especially designed for a better Internet surfing experience. It’s 21.2mm thin, but it’s thicker than the current DSi (18.9mm) and way heavier (314g vs. 214g).

 

Nintendo Japan’s web site is in Japanese (obviously), but this page visualizes the difference in screen size between the “old” DSi and the LL (just hover your mouse across the screen).

Nintendo has yet to announce international sales plans.

Update:

Kotaku reports Europe gets the new DSi model in the first quarter of 2010. It’s going to be called DSi XL there. No word on a US release yet.

 

Quo vadis, Forza Motorsport 3?

How much you enjoy Forza Motorsport 3 entirely depends on the time you have to invest in it. If you’re able to put in the man-hours you’ll find a racing sim that’s a deep as you want it to be, and just as rewarding. If you’re only able to play a few minutes here and there, well, it’s not really the same thing.

The game presents itself as a driving simulator, but one that won’t punish you for not knowing the difference between a carburetor and a CD changer. And, incidentally, you’ll be changing the game disc as soon as you turn it on, for the game’s developer’s, Turn 10, couldn’t fit it all on just one; an optional content install prompts as soon as the game loads. You’ll need approximately 2GB of free space on your hard drive to get the entire FM3 experience.

 

From there a cheery British announcer guides you through the game—it’s as if you’re playing Top Gear. The standard modes are there, but it’s career mode that shows the game in its best light. You’re granted a low-level car—something that you yourself may well own in real life—then race from event to event, earning credits and plaudits from other car manufacturers along the way. The credits are used to buy upgrades, while after the occasional successful race you’ll get a message along the lines of: “Fiat thinks you’re a good driver, so they’re giving you this brand new car for free!”

 

Lather, rinse, repeat. You’ll go from Class Z clunker to Class A holy-cow-this-is-fast as you plug along in career mode, which will take some time. Better skip out on Heroes this week if you want to make the most of this game.

The game looks good, yes, but I’m hesitant to call it the best-looking racing game I’ve ever played: that title belongs to Racer Driver: Grid. (Note: I never bought Dirt 2 because rally racing doesn’t appeal to me.) I don’t know, things just look too shiny to me. The best way I can describe it is, remember the first few FIFA games for the PS3/360, and how “shiny” the player models looked? I get the same feeling here.

 

Not that we’re graphics whores ’round these parts, but I’d be remiss to not mention how the game looks.

To make another comparison to Race Driver: Grid, I do feel that the menus in the game, and just the way the game is presented, is less interesting than Codemasters’ hit. In Grid, menus fly by and spin in circles, you can see people walking about your garage while selecting a new paint scheme, your earned credits fill up in dramatic fashion, slowing down as you approach an upgrade point… It just seems more “next-gen,” more “hmm, now this is different” than FM3, which is very much “well, this isn’t anything special.”

 

So is the game good? Yes, of course; I dare you not to enjoy it. You will, however, have a much better time if you can sit there for several hours rather than treating it as a quick “hey let me kill 10 minutes” fix.

Source: CrunchGear.com

Free GTA IV multiplayer this weekend on Xbox Live

Good news, everyone. (I hope people understand that reference.) Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City comes out tomorrow, and to help grease the wheels a little bit, this weekend will be a free-play weekend on Xbox Live for GTA IV. That is, if you have GTA IV but don’t subscribe to Xbox Live Gold, you’ll be able to play online multiplayer this weekend.

The deal goes from Friday to Sunday, and works for all the various GTA IV releases (The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony).

A couple of Rockstar people will be playing all night Saturday night, and their Gamertags are GwRockstar1 through GwRockstar16. Presumably there will be much trash talking and exploding cars.

Also, on Sunday, from 1pm to 3pm ET, you’ll be able to play with Henry Santos Jeter, who’s a singer in the band Aventura. So that’s neat, a successful musician taking time out of his day to run rampant throughout Liberty City with y’all.

Big Day in Gaming, October 27th edition: Forza Motorsport 3, Tekken 6 & DJ Hero

Today’s a pretty big day in gaming, ladies and gents. You’ve got DJ Hero, Tekken 6, and Forza Motorsport 3 all coming out today. (Incidentally, I’ll have like a mini FM3 “review” tomorrow, and we may have some fun Tekken news this week to share—stay tuned!) So I decided to go around some of the big gaming sites, and take select quotes, completely out of context, and share them with y’all here. Let’s go~!

Let’s start with FM3, since it’s the game I’ve actually played.

[B]From [COLOR="Yellow"]Edge:[/COLOR][/B]

[QUOTE]How often can you reinvent the wheel? It’s a question videogame developers are more qualified than most to answer. Year after year, driving titles strive to overtake each other for the lead in a continually evolving genre. It’s an interminable race, although one that in recent times has felt like it’s approaching its closing stages… Where does the genre go from here? With no one looking particularly threatening in its slipstream, Turn 10 [the game's developer] has time to decide.[/QUOTE]

[B]From [COLOR="Yellow"]IGN:[/COLOR][/B]

[QUOTE]Sony’s Gran Turismo may still sit in the pole position among racing sims for many, but Microsoft is making a hard charge with Forza Motorsport 3… Simply put, Forza 3 is one of the best racers ever made… I felt Forza 2 was lifeless and without spirit. That is not an issue with Forza 3. This is a game that showcases speed and beauty. The cars are sexy, the tracks look great, and the game runs at a smooth 60 frames per second. The lighting isn’t always perfect — you can often see shadows dancing around the car in some odd ways — and a few times textures didn’t load on the track. Despite these issues, Forza 3 is one hot looking game. [/QUOTE]

[B]From [COLOR="Yellow"]1UP:[/COLOR][/B]

[QUOTE]Forza 3 upholds the franchise’s tradition of excellence, but also plays it a little too safe; it irons out the previous game’s clunky interface and sports a minor visual upgrade, but the gameplay feels strikingly similar to its predecessor. Still, Forza 3 is a very good racing sim in a handsome package that can proudly proclaim itself as the best and most polished currently available, but it’s the excellent integration and extent of its online features that make it a stand out game. Driving, tuning and creating within a living community breathes essential life to a game genre that can occasionally be a bit too stuffy for its own good. [/QUOTE]

So, surprise, it looks like FM3 is good. Again, I’ll have my take on the game here tomorrow. Not that you care ;-)

Next, Tekken 6. Remember: we may have some exciting Tekken-related news here later this week, so keep your eyes peeled!

[B]From [COLOR="Yellow"]IGN[/COLOR]:[/B]

[QUOTE]Following in a long line of arcade fighters, Tekken 6 continues the one-on-one, 3D tradition with the franchise’s biggest roster yet, and some nice gameplay refinements… The real problem comes from the game’s load times, which are poor all around. Not only is there a frustrating amount of loading before an online match (while the two players sync up) but there’s some unusual loading peppered throughout the entire Tekken 6 experience. Even selecting a fighter off the character select screen takes a fair amount of time, as the character models pop into existence after a hefty delay. This issue is present on both the PS3 and 360 versions, even after the PS3 version’s optional install of more than four GB. These awkward load times, while disappointing, are still tolerable and won’t spoil Tekken 6. I just wish we could have seen the game perform a little better… Tekken 6 has a lot to offer, including a massive roster, refined gameplay, plenty of modes, online multiplayer and an absurd amount of character customization options…With that said, Tekken fans will certainly gobble it up and I think gamers unfamiliar with the franchise should give it a shot. The unique mix of an easy-to-use interface with intensely deep strategies is definitely worth checking out. [/QUOTE]

That’s the only “big” review I could find. If you guys find more, I’ll add ‘em later, such is the POWER of the Internet.

And lastly, DJ Hero.

[B]From [COLOR="Yellow"]IGN:[/COLOR] [/B]

[QUOTE]Because this is a new type of music game, there’s a lot to explain, but let’s get this out of the way first: DJ Hero is fantastic. It’s one of the best games I’ve played this year and one of the best music games I’ve ever played… In an overcrowded genre of music games, DJ Hero resides at the very top with the best of ‘em… But DJ Hero is already the most exciting music game around and is guaranteed to get the party started. To paraphrase Run DMC: gosh darn that DJ made my day. [/QUOTE]

Again, I couldn’t find any more DJ Hero reviews. Is today a holiday or something? Because if it is I’m out of here!

So, yeah, just some random comments.

Is World of Warcraft too big to be displaced at this point?

Back before I started playing World of Warcraft (because of something that was work-related, incidentally), I used to tease my then-roommate about playing it well into the night, every night. I was a freshman at a certain horrendously expensive school, and my gaming started and stopped with my Xbox; I had no time for time-sink PC games. Not my roommate, no sir.

The day the game came out—he had also been part of the beta—he plopped into his small, uncomfortable chair, Sunkist in hand (man alive did he love Sunkist for some reason), and quested well into the night away.

That was five years ago, and, correct me if I’m wrong, but no other game has even come close to de-throning Blizzard’s little engine that… still does.

Look at the game’s subscription numbers. The current estimate is that some 13.1 million people subscribe to the game in one shape or fashion. Lump all these people together in the same geographic area, and it would be the third biggest city in the world, after Mumbai and Shanghai. (Or, to put it in American terms, that’s nearly twice the population of New York City proper.) That, and the game is still growing… Wrath of the Lich King isn’t even available in China yet! When that hits, bam! Hello, even more money.

So we’ve established that WoW is big; that’s not exactly breaking news. Its closest competitors, I think, at least in the West, are Warhammer Online and AION. Apparently AION has had some technical issues that has driven players away, and Warhammer Online sorta came and went. And it’s not that these games aren’t good, but that, well, if all my friends play WoW, why would I abandon them?

That’s why WoW is where it is, and why it’s not going anywhere any time soon: too many people are playing for someone to come along and not it off its perch. That’s not to say that another game won’t come along and find a successful niche of its own—my money’s on Star Wars: The Old Republic, whenever that comes out!—but you’re crazy if you think another game is going to “kill” WoW.

And what will kill WoW? WoW 2, provided Blizzard wants to rock the boat, so to speak.

The gist is, WoW seems to be pretty much unbeatable right now. It launched at just the right time, with just the right lore, with just the right number of updates, with just the right fanbase.

If that’s a good thing or a bad thing, I don’t know.

ODROID portable Android gaming machine sells through initial dev units

Perhaps someday you’ll buy an Android device to use primarily for gaming. It could happen! Pictured above is the ODROID, a gaming-focused portable running Android and packing a powerful 833MHz Cortex A8 CPU.

Other specs include 512MB of RAM, 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HDMI out, and the ability to act as a USB host. There’s no cellular chipset on board.

Apparently the first run of developer units have already sold out at around $320. A second batch is expected to follow in late November, with a consumer version planned for December. Aside from using the ODROID to play games, you can do all the non-phone Android stuff and watch HD movies at 720P thanks to the speedy processor.

While being able to play games from the Android Market’s list of currently-available titles, I’d personally have this thing running one of the NES, Genesis, or SNES emulators before I even got the plastic film removed from the screen. The actual D-pad and X/Y/A/B buttons would make for some seriously wonderful retro gaming.

In case you missed it, DJ Hero is available today

Yes, you can leave work early today. No need to ask your boss, he/she is okay with it.

If you haven’t had your fill of music rhythm games by now or you watched with a furrowed brow as guitar-based game after guitar-based game flooded the market, your giant headphones covering only one of your ears and held in place by your own shoulder just like your favorite DJs, then you’ll want to scrounge up between $100 and $200 for Activision’s DJ Hero, depending on your console and whether or not you want the special “Renegade Edition.”

Pricing is as follows:
DJ Hero with Turntable Controller for PS2: $100
DJ Hero with Turntable Controller for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii: $120
DJ Hero Renegade Edition for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii: $200

The “Renegade Edition” includes “premium Renegade turntable controller, case, stand and exclusive DJ Hero Renegade 2-CD pack from Jay-Z and EMINEM.”

Available today all over the place. Full press release below:
DJ HERO™ – THE MOST-ANTICIPATED NEW MUSIC GAME OF THE YEAR – SPINS ONTO STORE SHELVES NATIONWIDE
DJ Hero Renegade Edition Features Premium Renegade Turntable Controller, Case, Stand and Exclusive DJ Hero Renegade 2-CD pack from JAY-Z and EMINEM
93 Exclusive Original Mixes from World Renowned DJ’s Bring Unprecedented Variety of Music Spanning Hip Hop, Rock, Pop, Dance and R&B to the Music Game Genre

SANTA MONICA, CA – October 27, 2009 /PRNewswire/ — The party has started with the most anticipated music game of the year, as DJ Hero™ is now available at retail stores nationwide, Activision Publishing Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) today announced. DJ Hero invites audiences of all kinds to the party, bringing living room legends to the main stage with the newest innovation in music gaming with an exclusive 93-mix track list, created by a host of legendary DJs uniquely blending almost every genre of music including hip hop, rock, pop, R&B and dance. Featuring electrifying gameplay that incorporates the fundamentals of DJing in a fun and accessible format, and booming tracks from Rihanna to The Killers; Marvin Gaye to Daft Punk; Queen to the Black Eyed Peas, DJ Hero provides consumers an opportunity to interact and listen to music unlike ever before. Heightening the euphoric experience, the DJ Hero Renegade Edition delivers exclusive special edition hardware and a limited edition CD collaboration between two cultural icons – JAY-Z, the most successful solo recording artist of all time and hip hop legend, EMINEM – introducing unreleased material from EMINEM and JAY-Z’s first ever “best of” compilation.

The game has already received global accolades:

“DJ Hero is an impressive piece of work…” with “…infectiously inventive mash-ups.” –Entertainment Weekly

“One of the best games I’ve played this year” with “the best soundtrack for any music game, ever” and “You’re going to want to have DJ Hero on hand for your next party.” – 9/10 – IGN.com Editors’ Choice Award. – IGN.com

“The best music game of the year and a leap forward for the genre.” – 92/100 – GamesMaster Magazine

“DJ Hero allows a player to get lost in a DJ universe, creating a genuine experience,” said JAY-Z. “It’s a perfect way to expose hip hop as all encompassing of every musical genre and how the DJ combines everything to make great music.”

“I think that the cool thing about DJ Hero is that the music is actually part of the gameplay,” said EMINEM. “You get a chance to experience what it’s like to be a DJ and scratch up different songs of mine in really great mixes.”

“When artists with the global appeal and cultural significance like JAY-Z and EMINEM come together you know it’s something groundbreaking,” said Dan Rosensweig, President and CEO of Guitar Hero. “DJ Hero pushes the boundaries of music and gaming with original music mixes and innovative game play that put the power of the DJ and the artistry of hip hop music into the hands of consumers around the world.”

Expanding upon the revolutionary easy to pick up/challenging to master gameplay mechanics developed and refined in Guitar Hero®, DJ Hero delivers an all-new interactive music experience that allows players to start the party and not only experience, but to hear music in an all-new way. Featuring mixes created by DJ AM, Cut Chemist, Grandmaster Flash, DJ Jazzy Jeff, J. Period, DJ Shadow, DJ Z-Trip and more, spinning over 100 individual songs, highlighted in 93 unique never-before-released mixes that blend genres of music, including hip-hop, pop, rock and dance, DJ Hero delivers the most diverse and international collection of music ever assembled in a music game by incorporating anthems from legendary artists. Created exclusively for DJ Hero, the turntable controller immerses fans into the DJ culture and a sea of music as they utilize and master various DJ techniques including scratching, crossfading and sampling, while leaving room for creative expression with a variety of effects and player chosen samples and scratches, transforming a face in the crowd into the life of the party.

The DJ Hero Renegade Edition includes a copy of the game, a premium Renegade turntable controller, hardshell turntable carrying case that converts to a performance-ready DJ stand, and an exclusive JAY-Z and EMINEM 2-CD pack featuring “best of” and new, unreleased material.

Available now, DJ Hero was developed by FreeStyleGames for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment systems and the Wii™ system from Nintendo. The game is rated “T” (Teen – Mild Suggestive Themes, Lyrics) by the ESRB.