Hip-hop fans to get Guitar Hero-style game

Scratch: The Ultimate DJ will let you ride the wheels of steel.
Scratch: The Ultimate DJ will let you ride the wheels of steel.

Activision's range of Guitar Hero titles has made music-orientated video games big business, and now Genco Interactive and 7 Studios are set to expand the genre's horizons with the launch of Scratch: The Ultimate DJ.

This is billed as a hip-hop based rhythm game that, like Guitar Hero, will come with a dedicated hardware controller. In this case, it's a turntable-style device that's being designed by DJing veterans Numark, lending the project a degree of credibility.

The developers are promising that Scratch: The Ultimate DJ will feature music from "the biggest names in hip-hop". Indeed, there's speculation that tracks from Tupac, LL Cool J and Ice Cube will all be included.

Hip-hop battle

This won't be the first DJing game to come to market - Konami's Beatmania also ships with a turntable peripheral - and it might not be the last, either. Activision trademarked the DJ Hero name earlier this year, fuelling speculation that it'll launch its own mixing/scratching title.

MusicRadar is all in favour of wannabe DJs being given the chance to get their kicks on a games console, but what would be really great is if the skills learnt in Scratch: The Ultimate DJ were translatable to 'proper' DJing software and hardware.

The game will be released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 next year.

(Via GameSpot UK)

Ben Rogerson

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.