Genius Products Inc. (GNPR)

[fredman]

Damn! Those beats are so fresh! Scratch: The Ultimate DJ

Genius, in a diligent attempt to prove that their upcoming turntable sporting beat-a-thon Scratch: The Ultimate DJ game is not merely a DJ Hero clone, (which would be difficult considering DJ Hero isn’t out ’til the fall) have released a new video highlighting the tricks and treats on offer from their patented SCRATCH DECK device.

The obvious difference between Scratch: The Ultimate Hero and DJ Hero is how the former has real-life turntable manufacturer Numark on board to create what they classify as the perfect device for scratching. With spinning wheels and cross-faders on board, the two peripherals roughly perform the same duties but it’s the presence of 5 Akai Pro MPC-style drum pads on the SCRATCH DECK that allow budding DJs to introduce custom samples into their mixes.

Just like what happened between Rock Band and Guitar Hero, it looks like we’ll have two* similar (but not identical) DJing products on the market at the same time, both vying for your dope mixing skills. It’s hard to tell at the moment who has the edge here. After all, Activision obviously have deep pockets and know the “simulated music playing genre” down to a tee. Genius on the other hand have Numark’s industry knowledge suggesting a peripheral that may be very close to the real thing - or as close as you’re going to get within in a game.

It will be interesting to see how both games pan out.

Source: http://www.ps3attitude.com/new/2009/06/scratch-ultimate-dj/