Dan Rosensweig, CEO of Activision’s Guitar Hero business, tells MCV that we will “probably see fewer SKUs” from the publisher in the company’s 2010 slate, “but the focus on making the best-selling, most fun to play, best-reviewed games will continue.”

“[There will be] more DJ Hero, and the next iterations of Guitar and Band are on the way,” Rosensweig says. “But we will see how the market plays out. What you will see is the games will live longer and be more vibrant through DLC.”

When you ship over 25 games featuring the Hero brand — Guitar Hero: Metallica, Guitar Hero 5, Guitar Hero: Van Halen, Guitar Hero: Smash Hits, Band Hero, DJ Hero — and do so with multiple SKUs of each title — full band kits, guitar only bundles, “Renegade Edition” turntables — it might be difficult not to ship less. Especially when a company like Activision takes a look at the sales of titles like DJ Hero and notices that the PlayStation 2 version only sold 3300 copies at launch.

Heroic Deeds [MCV via Joystiq]

Brutal Legend managed to move 215,000 copies when you combine the figures from PS3 and 360. For a game with a niche appeal, that’s not too bad. But for a game that had Jack Black popping up every five seconds to promote it… yeah, maybe EA were hoping for a little more.

It’s a veritable Modern Warfare 2 when you compare it to DJ Hero, however, which only sold 122,300 units. Across four platforms. Yes, it was only on sale for five days in October (still a long enough time to pick up decent numbers), but this was Activision’s first crack at their own “Hero” game. It had an expensive marketing campaign, and was backed by heavyweights like Daft Punk, Jay-Z and DJ Shadow.

Then again, maybe that was the problem. My distaste for the game has always been down to its scattershot approach to its soundtrack: a little hip-hop here, a little electronica there, some dance, all meeting over some ill-advised pop remixes… it’s a mess. Perhaps it would have been better served picking, say, hip-hop and just running with that, so it was a must-have for at least one market.

That or not being $US120. Or making its song downloads $US3. Those might have helped, too.

Wonder if it’ll do any better in November…

Anyway, here’s the platform breakdown for those interested, courtesy of GameSpot:

Brutal Legend (360) – 150,000 units
Brutal Legend (PS3) – 66,000 units
DJ Hero (360) – 62,000 units
DJ Hero (PS3) – 39,000 units
DJ Hero (Wii) – 19,000 units
DJ Hero (PS2) – 3300 units

Brutal Legend sells 216K, DJ Hero 123K [GameSpot]

Yes, that’s right, we’re now publishing reader reviews here on Kotaku. This is your chance to deliver sensible game purchasing advice to the rest of the Kotaku community.

And thanks to the very kind chaps at Madman Entertainment, purveyor of all kinds of cool, indie and esoteric film, the best reader review we publish each month will win a prize pack containing ten of the latest Madman DVD releases.

This review was submitted by Ben Robinson. If you’ve played DJ Hero, or just want to ask Ben more about it, leave your thoughts in the comments below.

DJ Hero (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii)

DJ Hero is the latest instalment in the Hero franchise published by Activision, and takes the action to the steel wheels, focusing on playing ‘mixes’. This means you’ll be playing over 90 original tracks, like the merging of Queen and Daft Punk, or Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer. Surprisingly, it all comes together for a really fresh outlook on the rhythm genre.

Loved

Variety: The sturdy turntable has three buttons on the platter, the ability to scratch (and rewind the track for bonus points), a cross-fader and a special effects dial for even more points. The Euphoria button is also included as an equivalent of Star Power. It feels a lot more involving than the guitar instrument.

Simplicity: I’m personally in favour of the progression through each pre-defined setlist at your own pace, rather than career modes, boss battles, and whatnot. Better performances net you more stars and the ability to unlock cool goodies, like DJs, costumes and venues.

Feels Good, Man: It’s really just a fun game. Although I often felt frustrated in the Guitar Hero games, DJ Hero really gets me and anyone watching in the groove, and is damned satisfying and enjoyable. Hook up a guitar for extra fun!

Hated

Freestyle? When it comes down to it, DJ Hero is strictly a rhythm game. You follow notes onscreen as they pass through the bar. This means two things: if you were never enchanted by previous Heroes, then this iteration will probably not change that, and; DJ Hero only features predefined recordings that you can’t change at all. It’s still enjoyable, but it limits your creativity in a major way.

DJ Hero is another impressive contender in the slew of rhythm games recently. FreeStyleGames has crafted a stylish and unique rhythm game that’s easy to get into but difficult to master. If you’re choosing between Beatles Rock Band, Guitar Hero 5 and DJ Hero, it’s going to be tough.

Reviewed by: Ben Robinson

You can have your Reader Review published on Kotaku. Send your review to us at the usual address. Make sure it’s written in the same format as above and in under 300 words – yes, we’ve upped the word limit. We’ll publish the best ones we get and the best of the month will win a Madman DVD prize pack.

DJ Hero developer FreeStyleGames’ Chris Lee gave IGN the skinny on the first round of DJ Hero DLC, revealing a price point that might very well stay players’ hands. The first two new tracks—50 Cent (featuring Mary J. Blige) mixed with Queen’s “Radio Ga Ga” and Gorrilaz’ “Dare” mashed with “Can’t Truss It” by Public Enemy—will be hitting Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network today in the form of a two-pack costing 480 Microsoft points, or $US5.99. The new tracks will be showing up later on the Wii for 300 Wii points apiece.

Lee explains why DJ Hero tracks cost a dollar more than Rock Band or Guitar Hero tracks:

There’s additional work in the creation process of the DJ Hero DLC – licensing multiple pieces of content and bringing in a professional DJ to mix the tracks – that brings the price to 300 Wii Points for the mixes individually; 480 Microsoft Points or $US5.99 in the PlayStation Store for Extended Mix Pack 01.

While I can certainly understand the reasoning, I still can’t see myself paying $US3 a track. I’m fine with the 93 I already have, thanks.

Future DLC includes a three-pack of songs from David Guetta, including remixes of “Sexy Bitch”, “On The Dance Floor” and “When Love Takes Over”. That pack is due out November 24 for 640 Microsoft points or $US7.99, while the Wii tracks will still be sold individually at 300 points a pop.

DJ Hero DLC Interview [IGN via 1UP]

“Immediately, of course, with the success of Guitar Hero, it piqued my interest,” Jay-Z tells MTV. “Then, you know, on top of that, it was something from the hip hop culture, so any time, you know, I can expand the genre and introduce it to new audiences and widen it. You know, the reach of what hip hop can do, you know, I’m interested in that. And then, you know, after playing the game, you really get the feeling, like you know, you can be Grand Master Flash.”

Money, of course, had nothing to, you know, do with it.

Jay-Z Talks ‘DJ Hero’ And His Gaming Habits [MTV]

Anyway, a Mr. “serv-27zb4-1438184361@craigslist.org” is offering his services and his DJ Hero kit to rotate some tracks for your wedding party, using “‘ACTIVISION DJ HERO and XBOX360′ to mix blends and mash-ups of DANCE – CLASSIC ROCK – HIP HOP” – aka the usual shit you hear in the waiting lounge of a Jiffy Lube down in Fuquay.

The guy then quotes 21 songs off the DJ Hero tracklist. “Host must provide STANDARD TELEVISION SET and SPEAKERS!!” Thass right, bitches!!! No Hi-Def!!! We talkin’ STANDARD. Also: “My setup is state of the art,” even though you could tune a boom box to 107.5 out of Winston-Salem, Rock 92 from Asheboro or 102 Jamz (”It really, really does!”) from Greensboro for the same effect.

His fee? Three hours for just $US50 and the beef or chicken. But for $US25 more, he’ll close down the joint, be it Masonic lodge or Jaycee hut. Luckily, “Don’t Cha” is also not on the tracklist, so you don’t have to endure a bunch of 55-year-old broads pretending to be MILFs before the cake-cutting.

L@@K DJ for parties, weddings, business eventTAKE URPARTY2THE NEXT LVL (RTP, NC) [OH YEAH, via Destructoid.]

This is a warning or maybe it’s a helpful hint for those striving for just one…more…point.

Me? I didn’t notice until someone sent me a message over Xbox Live to remark that the DJ Hero developers had included a one-point Achievement.

You get it for playing your first mix of songs, which is the first thing you’ll accomplish outside of the game’s tutorial.

My gamerscore now ends in a one, not that I could even tell you what it is. Looking it up, it is…18,521.

I’ve got a request in to the DJ Hero developers to find out what they were thinking.

While the Guitar Hero series is all about performing music, DJ Hero is all about perfecting it. Packed together with a plastic facsimile of a turntable, the DJ’s weapon of choice, the game packs more than 100 licensed songs into 93 tracks, harnessing the creative power of some of the world’s top names in turntable-ism. Talent like Eminem, Jay-Z, DJ Shadow, Grandmaster Flash, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Daft Punk provide mashups for the game, with developer FreeStyleGames’ in-house talent crafting a few themselves. As a result of all that creativity, DJ Hero features the most unique playlist of any rhythm game out there.

But is music where the difference ends? Is this just another way to play Guitar Hero, or is DJ Hero’s Euphoria more than just a different way to say Star Power?

Loved
The Music: DJ Hero features 93 tracks that are completely original, yet immediately familiar. I am a huge fan of song mashups, to the point where genres and artists I normally wouldn’t listen to are fine as long as they are mixed with something I enjoy. Fortunately, the original tracks employed by DJ Hero’s various mix-masters are tunes that I enjoyed in the first place. I realise that taste in music is a very personal thing, but no one can deny the brilliance of mixing together Vanilla Ice’s “Ice, Ice, Baby” with MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This”. This game is filled with clever combinations like this, to the point where I’d say you could easily have the game running on auto-pilot in the background at a party and no one would complain.

The Machine: The DJ Hero turntable is a daunting device when you first get your hands on it, and it certainly takes some getting used to. I tried several different finger positions on the disc itself before finding one that allowed me to comfortably manage scratching without my fingers slipping. Once I found the right position I began burning through the set list at a rapid pace, tweaking the effects knob and managing the crossfader like a pro would if he or she was working with a plastic facsimile of a turntable.

Easing Up: FreeStyleGames has done an excellent job of creating a game that is accessible to players of all skill levels. There are five different difficulty levels in the game, each ramping up the challenge level, adding in new game mechanics leading up to expert mode, where the game pulls out all of its tricks. Beginner mode has the player simply pressing any button, holding it down to scratch, while expert has you scratching to match directional arrows while crossfading like some sort of maniac. The difficulty range makes the game much more approachable to new players, while allowing more experienced players to show off their mad DJ skills.

Guitar VS. DJ: DJ Hero would have been fine without the inclusion of tracks specifically tailored toward a combination of turntable and guitar controller, but the addition is quite welcome, especially for folks who scraped up every last penny they had to afford the $US119.99 price tag for the bundled version of the game. As the turntable currently isn’t available for purchase as a separate unit, giving players another way to play DJ Hero with their friends is a nice touch.

DJ Style: DJ Hero oozes DJ style, or at least DJ style as far as I am familiar with it. The presentation is light on words and big on images, using a pseudo-graffiti style to depict the options as you navigate through a simple sliding menu. The venues you perform in are vibrant and full of life, ensuring that onlookers have something to keep them occupied while you stare at the DJ highway. You unlock decks, headphones and outfits as you progress through the game, as well as DJs — from original characters with their own fictional biographies, to some of the biggest names ever to touch a turntable. Of course if you’re like me, as soon as Daft Punk is unlocked you never go back. Overall, the game presents a rather well put-together package.

Party Play: As mentioned previous, DJ Hero’s track listing is definitely party-worthy. Fortunately the game contains a Party Play option, which lets the player choose from a custom or premade playlist, which will run on its own with but a touch of a button. Unfortunately the game flashes a message on the screen during Party Play to keep players from using the automatic play as false examples of how good they are at the game, but it’s a small price to pay for some excellent party music.

Hated
Re-Remix: Perhaps a result of having to go through all 93 tracks in the game in quick succession, I found myself growing weary of the repeat songs in DJ Hero’s playlist. It isn’t that the songs themselves repeat, but you’ll find certain songs used in multiple mashups, like Tears for Fears’ “Shout” and Rihanna’s “Disturbia”, to the point where I sighed every time I saw the song names come up. Again, possibly not an issue if you are playing in short bursts — just be ready for it if you plan any marathon sessions.

One-Track Multiplayer: DJ Hero’s online multiplayer is a plain vanilla affair, lacking any real sense of competition outside of simply trying to complete the song better than the other player. Two DJs take the stage, playing the same song with the reverse option turned off so as to not interrupt the flow of things. Simply leaving the reverse option on and having it affect both tables would have been enough, adding an element of strategy to the gameplay by allowing the other player to force their opponent to replay parts of the song they stumbled over previously. Hopefully FreeStyleGames will spice up multiplayer in the inevitable sequels.

Can I Just Play A Song Please?: For some strange reason, FreeStyleGames omitted to include any sort of quick play option in DJ Hero. In order to play one song, you have to either find the pre-created playlist the song is in or edit out the other tunes, or create your own custom playlist with only that one song in it. It seems completely silly to me that you can’t just look at the complete track listing, choose one song and hit play, but there you go. Strange.

I’ve been growing increasingly disillusioned with rhythm games over the past year. It seems like the two major players—Rock Band and Guitar Hero—are doing the exact same thing, only with different music, and let’s be completely honest here — the music isn’t all that different. New titles like Band Hero and LEGO Rock Band rise up, only to ultimately disappoint when both again feature similar tracks and the same old gameplay.

Perhaps what the genre needs is a fresh title with unique music and an all-new way to play. I’ve certainly felt that need myself and DJ Hero has satiated it completely. There’s definitely room for improvement, but even a flawed DJ Hero is a breath of fresh air for fans of music games.

DJ Hero was developed by FreeStyleGames and published by Activision on October 27th on the Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Retails for $US119.99/$AU179.95 ($US99.99/$AU159.95 for the PS2). A copy of the Xbox 360 version of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Performed all tracks on medium, playing through a selection of tracks on all difficulty levels. Played several tracks in online multiplayer. Completed 92 per cent of the game with 34 more stars left to go.

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Will hype, demo booths and the Hero brand be enough to make DJ Hero a smash hit? Perhaps not, if Cowen and Company’s projections are accurate. The company recently conducted a survey of online retailers regarding Activision’s DJ game, and the results weren’t as impressive as Activision may have hoped.

“On DJ Hero, despite some recent positive comments from company management about pre-orders, we remain very cautious about the title’s prospects at launch,” he noted. “A survey of online retailers indicates a demand profile that is well below what we would have expected to see just a few days before launch for a title that was destined to be a big (or even modest) hit. As a result, we are reducing our estimate for DJ Hero Q4 US unit sales from 1.6 million to 600,000, and we are reducing our first year estimate from 2.5 million to 950,000.”

Creutz still believes that DJ Hero will eventually be a huge success, but expects it to do so over the course of several sequels.

These numbers make sense to me. While Guitar Hero and Rock Band have the benefit of recognisable instruments and music, DJ Hero consists of mashups of popular songs performed using a device that not a lot of consumers are familiar with. Just tally up how many times you’ve seen someone play imaginary guitars or drums or sing into a fake microphone versus how often you see someone air turn-tabling.

Analyst: DJ Hero Pre-Order Activity Weak [Edge]

Pictured, it comes with a collapsible stand for your turntable and all fits inside a carry case. It retails for $300, but DVD Crave is currently offering it for just $249.95, the best deal I’ve spotted across all platforms.

Still, I dunno, is that really a good deal for a table?