CLAIRE HUX

The NPD Group’s sales information for October has been released, and DJ Hero is nowhere to be found on the top ten list. According to Gamespot, the game sold 122,300 copies. That may not sound like a flop, but keep in mind that this number is spread across four platforms. The sales breakdown is depressing: it sold best on the 360, with 62,000 units moved. The worst? 3,300 units on the PlayStation 2.

What happened? Activision Blizzard spent a mint promoting the game, including hiring big-name producers and DJs to hype the release, as well as bringing in Jay-Z and Eminem to perform at a star-studded concert at E3. The game had strong early buzz, and it could still be a slow-burning hit. Our guess, though, is that you’re looking at an expensive flop of game. Why did a title with so much going for it miss the mark in sales so spectacularly? We have a few theories.

This isn’t a party game

While a small number of songs can be played with a second player on guitar, the overwhelming majority of the songs are single player. The turntable is the only instrument used in this kind of music, meaning a game based on DJ culture is simply not compatible with having multiple people playing at the same time. Even the competitive mode feels tacked on and shallow.

A DJ is one man behind a set of turntables and a mixer. That feeling is conveyed very well in the game, but when playing with friends, the best way to enjoy the game is to take turns playing. Rhythm games work best with crowds, and DJ Hero is a solitary experience. That’s not a knock against it; playing the game is great fun. It’s just hard to share with others, compared to the more popular Rock Band and Guitar Hero franchises.

It’s expensive

The Renegade Edition of the game was $200. The standard edition, $120. That’s a tough sell in a market where price point is so important. For $80 more you can get yourself a Wii or an Xbox 360 Arcade model. Right now at GameStop you can spend $20 less and pick up a game, a guitar, a microphone, and drums with the $99 Rock Band 2 Special Edition. The music is more accessible, you can pay with friends, and you get more hardware for less money.

The turntable included with the $120 DJ Hero release is a high quality accessory; you won’t feel ripped off if you buy the game. The trouble is that at that price, with only one accessory, not many people are going to be willing to find that out.

You don’t know any of these songs

DJ Hero comes with a numbing number of great, big-name songs by impressive artists. The problem is the music you actually play in the game consists of mash-ups of two songs per track, and the DJs and producers who created the music were free to chop, change, and cut up the songs to create something new. The tracks are great, but it’s not what you’re used to, and your favorite song may only be used as a hook or a bass beat buried deep in the original track the game uses.

With other rhythm games, you know the songs you’re playing. You know when a big solo is coming, and the hook that you love listening to is always going to be there. DJ Hero offers tracks that bump and pulse and change… that’s good for the club, but it can create distance between the songs and players used to something a little more traditional.

If you’re already comfortable with this style of music, you’re going to love what the game offers. If you’re not, you may find the use of the songs you know and love strange. The game’s credibility may actually hurt it; including artists like Afrika Bambaataa may excite hip-hop fans, but that’s not a name that’s going to energize every gamer who sees it on the back of the box in a game store.

You probably don’t know how a turntable works

People intuitively know how to use a guitar. It’s a stringed instrument, it’s accessible, people know how to hold it. Drums are the same way. A turntable? Even fans of the music may not have a good idea of what’s being done to create those sounds.

Playing DJ Hero will require most players to go through the tutorials to learn what the buttons do, what a fader is, and how to interact with the game. There is a ton of stuff to keep track of as well: the buttons, the scratches, the cross-fader with three positions, the volume knob. You have to learn different ways to move your hands, and the quick flicks of the cross fade at the higher difficulty levels require both fast movement and precision. It’s not an easy game to learn to play.

When people watch others play Rock Band or Guitar Hero, they want to try. Even playing on easy mode with DJ Hero requires you to learn new skills; when people watch others play, they seem to get intimidated instead of drawn in.

Is there hope?

Honestly, it’s going to be hard to overcome these challenges. There is already a low margin on plastic instruments, so it’s going to be hard to drop the price on the game and still make a profit. DJ culture is unlikely to explode in the next few months to give the game a sales boost. People are increasingly drawn into more social experiences, and this is a rare beast: a rhythm game best played alone.

Which is a shame: the game is wonderful. The music sounds great, the gameplay is addictive once you get the hang of things, and Activision has proven that they can create a high-quality rhythm game without a roadmap being given to them by Harmonix. It’s worth your time and money. Will it get them?

Somehow, I doubt it. The things that make the game so good work against it in the current marketplace. It’s great for gamers that DJ Hero exists, but the sales may send a message that keeps this sort of brave appeal to the hardcore a rare thing.