DJ Hero Defies "Flop" Label, Sells a Million

[Logan Westbrook]

DJ Hero Defies "Flop" Label, Sells a Million

Predictions that DJ Hero [http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-DJ-Hero-Bundle-Turntable/dp/B0028ZNX68/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1278537650&sr=8-1] would be a slow burner have proven to be accurate, as Activision's Dan Amrich announces some very respectable sales figures.

Sometimes, things aren't what they appear at first glance. A humble truck turns out to be a noble alien robot, a blue box is really a time machine, and a "flop" music game turns out to be not such a flop after all.

Before DJ Hero's release, RedOctane co-founder Kai Huang said that Activision wasn't expecting the game to be an immediate best seller [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/95695-Activision-Expects-DJ-Hero-to-be-a-Slow-Starter]: "We're not expecting a typical videogame curve," he 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."

The "slower" part seemed a little too accurate when it was revealed that the game had only sold 122,300 units across four platforms in October, but writing on his blog [http://oneofswords.com/2010/07/editorial-failure-is-not-a-word-for-blur/], Activision's social media manager Dan Amrich said that DJ Hero had been unfairly written off: "DJ Hero was dubbed a flop on its release ... but what it needed was time for its audience to find it, a price break, and positive word from both friends and reviews to circulate. October and November were soft, but after the holiday, DJ Hero had hit about 800,000 units; today it's 1.2 million units and counting, all of which come with a turntable controller. That's not a flop; that's the long tail at work."

Amrich also makes the point that not every game is going to sell a million copies in its first week, and to expect them to do so is "pretty ridiculous." It's true that that initial period right after release is important, but as DJ Hero shows, it's not necessarily the most important time.

A sequel to DJ Hero, titled DJ Hero 2 is due to be released this fall.

Source: Ars Technica [http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2010/07/we-were-wrong-dj-hero-not-a-flop-sells-12-million.ars]






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[DarkRyter]

I'm happy for it. Guitar hero's getting played out, and DJ Hero's music is concentrated delicious for my ears.

 

[Radeonx]

Good. I'm happy to see something defy the conventional selling strategy.
The game isn't too bad, either. A little weird once you start, but it becomes quite fun.

 

[Ranooth]

I don't know what all the hate for DJ Hero was all about, i found it quite fun (although my brother paid for it) also it had Daft Punk in it!!

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

I have absolutely no interest in the game itself, but news like this is good, if only as ammunition to use when people cast titles with slow initial sales as flops - it astounds me sometimes when I see games that have barely even been out for a month labeled as abject failures.

 

[SaintWaldo]

The 2 DLC packs are, quite frankly, amazing. "Poker Face/Girls On Film" is actually a full third more awesome than I thought it would be, and I thought it would be pretty awesome.

They also seem to be taking the cool route and not putting one more feature on the DJH2 turntable, so the plastic lock-in isn't mandatory for the second play-list.

 

[John Funk]

DJ Hero is actually a lot of fun. I'm pleasantly surprised to hear this.

 

[ProfessorLayton]

I don't know what all the hate for DJ Hero was all about, i found it quite fun (although my brother paid for it) also it had Daft Punk in it!!

Everyone who hates on it has never taken the time out to play it. Honestly, I was skeptical at first once I heard they were making a DJ Hero. I didn't have high hopes for it. But then I tried it out and ended up buying it and I love it. It's tons of fun and it resparked my intrest for music games.

 

[Ranooth]

I was exactly the same, i laughed when my brother told me on the phone that he bought it. But once i started playing it i couldn't stop, played more then he did

 

[SomeGuyNamedKy]

I don't know what all the hate for DJ Hero was all about, i found it quite fun (although my brother paid for it) also it had Daft Punk in it!!

Everyone who hates on it has never taken the time out to play it. Honestly, I was skeptical at first once I heard they were making a DJ Hero. I didn't have high hopes for it. But then I tried it out and ended up buying it and I love it. It's tons of fun and it resparked my intrest for music games.

That's basically how I was. But once you play it, you realize there's more to it than Guitar Hero or Rock Band. I'm very excited about DJ Hero 2 and it's soundtrack. The soundtrack made the first game for me.

 

[RanD00M]

I would have bought it on release.But it wasn't available and I din't have the money to import it.Now it is available.But I'm saving up for something special.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

DJ hero is Fun, I have it on the PS3. I am glad that it reached a million units sold. I hope DJ Hero 2 is just as fun.

 

[Kenjitsuka]

The fact that this DIDN'T flop is a sign to me that humanity is sliding down into an uncomfortable state, in my mind...

 

[Jared]

Only took em forever to get there...well, I suppose defied the ods, as such

 

[Timbydude]

I don't even care if it's published by Activision. This was an incredibly well-made game. The mixes are among the best I've ever heard, the gameplay feels completely original and unique, and the presentation is outstanding. I'm glad it sold well.

In my experience, this is one of the few real instances where most people who bash a game have never actually played it.

 

[Booze Zombie]

Well, congratulations to him, but I am still not sold on a DJ game!

 

[PapaJupe]

While I own and love DJ Hero, I think this article is a bit misleading. Sure the game has sold over 1 million, but Activision has constantly had to lower the price of the game to move units. Well less than a year after its release, and you can find the game complete with turntable for alot less than half of what it cost originally. I have seen it advertised on the internet for as little as $40.
Again, great game.
But had Activision not cut the price so dramatically, there would be a crap ton of DJ Hero games buried out there next to all those Atari 2600 ET cartridges.

And now the question remains...do people learn from history?
When DJ Hero 2 is released, do people rush out to buy it, paying that crazy price?
Or do they wait a few months and get it for half the price?

 

[FightThePower]

Good news, DJ Hero gets a lot of bad rap (pun intended) for no reason.

 

[Kpt._Rob]

The fact that this DIDN'T flop is a sign to me that humanity is sliding down into an uncomfortable state, in my mind...

I'm betting you never actually took the time to play it, did you? My first thought when I heard about DJ hero was in a similar vein of "what could they possibly be thinking." But if you'll look over the comments here, most of them are overwhelmingly positive. DJ Hero was a hell of a lot of fun. I'm glad to hear that it's become a successful brand, I was overjoyed when I heard they were making a second, and I hope it keeps going strong.

I just hope they put a custom character creator into the second. That was the one thing that really bugged me about DJ Hero was that I didn't like most of the characters (exception made for Daft Punk (cause they're all cool and roboty) and DJ Shadow wasn't too bad either. Still, considering that all the Guitar Hero games now have a custom character creator, I guess I took it for granted that one would show up in DJ Hero. I was, of course, proved wrong.

 

[Chesterfield Snapdragon McFisticuffs]

I'm not sure about other countries, but here in New Zealand its less than half the price it was at release. The only reason it would have sold well here is if it was priced at what it was actually valued at (No, 200 dollars is not reasonable. 100 is.)