Activision Expects DJ Hero to be a Slow Starter

[Logan Westbrook]

Activision Expects DJ Hero to be a Slow Starter

A million sales in the first month would be a great start for DJ Hero, but that isn't what publisher Activision is expecting.

It's not often that a publisher is willing to admit that their game is not going to be the best-selling thing since gold-plated awesome, so when Red Octane co-founder Kai Huang says that DJ Hero is not going to be topping sales chart, it's refreshingly honest.

"We're not expecting a typical videogame curve where you sell the majority of the units in the first month and then it decays quickly," Huang said. "We're expecting this to be the type of game that may come out of the gate a little bit slower, but continue to grow over time."

"We've got a bit of a head start, people have an understanding what music games are, it has the 'Hero' brand on it," he said. "But at the same time, people don't know what a DJ game is. They don't know what you're supposed to do. Our strategy again is to focus on in-store demos."

I'll be honest, it's only recently that my interest has been piqued by DJ Hero, and that's largely because it features Vanilla Ice vs MC Hammer; but I've never really been a fan of dance music so I'm not sure if I can necessarily trust my opinion on the game.

What do you think about it? Will DJ Hero be a slow-burning hit, or an embarrassing flop? Or, will it defy expectations and sell like the proverbial hot cakes?

Source: 1up [http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3176628]



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[Lexodus]

Could swing either way. Personally, I think most (all) club music is shit, so I won't be getting it, but I know people who might like it.

 

[Bigeyez]

I pretty much agree with what he said. It will most likely start off with sluggish sales but once people start playing and getting experience with the controller and game it will pick up and have steady sales for a decent amount of time. It won't match the success of the main GH franchise but I can definitely see it moving quite a few units over it's lifetime.

Vanilla Ice vs MC hammer? Thats officially my new worst nightmare.

Don't knock it till you hear it. So far I've been pretty damn impressed by the remixes...and besides you know you rocked out to Ice Ice Baby and Can't Touch This back in the day too, admit it! =p

 

[UnravThreads]

DJ Hero is (in my opinion) going to go one of two ways.

It'll either get to the popularity of games like Rock Band (due to the slightly pricer-than-Guitar-Hero price tag) and spawn many sequels/additions, or it will be a complete flop.

If I remember the feature correctly, the functionality with Guitar Hero/Guitar Controllers will help it's popularity, but I don't think 10 songs is enough. In the case of a flop, people will be saddled with a relatively useless controller, so it must be integrated somehow into the established Guitar Hero/Rock Band franchises to eliminate its obsolesce for now.

 

[Amnestic]

Focusing on in-store demos seems like a...bad strategy for the UK. Most every store I visit never seem to have their in-store machines switched on. Perhaps I've just been unlucky and others in the UK have had a different experience, but relying on such a thing - from my experience - might not make them the sales they want.

 

[MetaKnight19]

I'm suprised they said that to be honest, but I think they're right. It's not going to be selling units through the roof on release. Personally, I think that DJ Hero is a stupid idea, but then people will say the same for Guitar Hero/Rock Band.

 

[Swaki]

i have the same view on this game now as i did before i tried the demo/when i first heard about it, nerds/gamers dont like dance music, it reminds us about hundreds of rejections where as classic rock music reminds us of all the fun times at the bar/pub/basement of a friend, but its sorta fun to play but ive never been a fan of the music games and never will be, also everybody wants to be a rock god, but its very few gamers that want to be a pop/dance disc scratcher whit a sideways hat and a popped collar.

most likely gonna be a flop, but im hoping to be proved wrong, it may not be moving away from the music games but its something different.

 

[The Great JT]

I assume it's going to sell 2000 copies in the first week.

And hopefully that'll be it. DJ Hero does not need to exist.

 

[Chipperz]

If I had a bit more cash, I'd pick this up on launch day. My mates love Guitar hero but I can only play bass. I'm vaguely confident as a DJ, so being able to use turntables would be really fun!

The only thing I do hope is that it's not instantly written off as "crap" just because it's a genre of music that isn't rock or metal...

 

[Pendragon9]

It depends. I don't think DJ hero will be such a hit.

 

[John Funk]

I assume it's going to sell 2000 copies in the first week.

And hopefully that'll be it. DJ Hero does not need to exist.

Don't knock it before you've tried it. I've only played it for a bit, but it's actually a lot of fun.

 

[JusticarPhaeton]

i have the same view on this game now as i did before i tried the demo/when i first heard about it, nerds/gamers dont like dance music, it reminds us about hundreds of rejections where as classic rock music reminds us of all the fun times at the bar/pub/basement of a friend, but its sorta fun to play but ive never been a fan of the music games and never will be, also everybody wants to be a rock god, but its very few gamers that want to be a pop/dance disc scratcher whit a sideways hat and a popped collar.

most likely gonna be a flop, but im hoping to be proved wrong, it may not be moving away from the music games but its something different.

Something like that. DJ and hip-hop/dance gives off a much different vibe, and fans of that sort of music are less game-oriented than rock/metal fans.

 

[Gunner_Guardian]

I personally think it won't tap into the casual player base as easily as guitar hero. Most people have fantasies of being a rock star but not a lot of people want to be a DJ. The casual player base is what guitar hero has been so big. Even when it was a bit more obsure, casuals still contributed to Guitar hero 2's success.

Also this seems to be more a solo game and Guitar hero has always been a party game. Sure you can hook up a guitar but then the argument from your fellow party goers "well why don't be just play guitar hero/rock band, then we can play with 4 people instead of 2".

As a result it won't sell very well and thus will flop very easily. I'm also hoping I'm proved wrong as this would mean Red Octane would just make Guitar hero 11 instead of experimenting more.

 

[ProfessorLayton]

Honestly I wasn't expecting much but I played the demo and I loved it. I don't even like most new rap and I really enjoyed the game. Hopefully it doesn't flop because it was a genuinely fun game.

 

[Cousin_IT]

It wont be as big as guitar hero. But I see no reason for it not to sell well by industry standards. Wouldn't be surprised if it does well in mainland Europe

 

[HyenaThePirate]

Think I'll pass on this and continue waiting for the much anticipated "Cowbell Hero"...