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DJ Hero sells 175,000 in Oct. - Analyst

Pacific Crest Securities predicts slow US start for Activision rhythm game in a month with sales down 20 percent; Borderlands pegged at 375,000.

Earlier this week, a pair of industry analysts released its predictions for the NPD Group's upcoming October US gaming software sales data release, guessing that game sales for the month were down 9-11 percent. Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson joined the chorus of naysayers today with a particularly pessimistic prediction that software sales would be off 20 percent from October 2008's levels.

Wilson doesn't think DJ Hero can pick up the slack created when Activision moved its big Guitar Hero debut to September.

Wilson doesn't think DJ Hero can pick up the slack created when Activision moved its big Guitar Hero debut to September.

Wilson blamed the shortfall on the decisions of Activision and MTV Games to move their major rhythm game releases up to September this year. Last year, Rock Band 2's multiplatform releases were staggered from September through December, while Guitar Hero World Tour debuted in late October. This year's The Beatles: Rock Band launched September 9, with Guitar Hero 5 debuting the prior week.

Wilson also weighed in on one big rhythm game that actually did launch this October, Activision's upstart mash-up effort DJ Hero. The analyst said the game started slow, estimating the turntable-bundled title sold 175,000 copies at retail. However, Wilson noted that it arrived in stores with just five days left in the NPD's October reporting period, which ran from October 4 to October 31.

Other games for which Wilson gave his predictions included Electronic Arts projects Brutal Legend (estimated 300,000 sold), FIFA 10 (estimated 250,000 sold), and NBA Live 10 (estimated 225,000 sold). The analyst also pegged sales of 2K Games' hoops sim NBA 2K10 and Gearbox-developed Borderlands at 375,000 each.

Wilson's predictions should be validated (or not) soon, as the NPD Group is expected to release its October retail gaming industry sales figures Thursday evening.

70 Comments

  • rachkovsky

    Posted Nov 15, 2009 2:38 pm GMT

    These sales are pathetic

  • Volrath2099

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 1:30 pm GMT

    @halo2

    ty even @120... its a bit steep... i appreciate the info though

  • halo2_4_pc

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 1:53 pm GMT

    @ Volrath2099

    The special edition is selling for $200, the regular version sells for $120.

  • Volrath2099

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 11:33 am GMT

    OMG this game is 200 dollars? HAHAHAAHA I didnt know that! this wont sell... AT ALL.

  • gnrlstuart

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 1:34 am GMT

    i'm definitely getting this game for xmas, but i think that £80 would have been the sweet spot for consumers.

  • UrbanMessiah

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 7:55 pm GMT

    It's a fun game, but that price scares most away. And Activision's idiot CEO said he'd charge more for the game if he could...really not the brightest move when the game won't move at the price point it's at now. -=p

  • snake289

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 4:40 pm GMT

    Funny thing is that this is a pretty damn good game as well.

    Thats what Activision gets for milking GH over and over again I guess.

  • rahul_batta

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 3:42 pm GMT

    Honestly what did they expect. Here is what the competition is, Dragon's Age, Uncharted 2, Modern Warfare 2, Assassins Creed 2, Demon's Souls, GTA IV Expansion, Forza 3, Rachet and Clank, hell throw in GOW Collections... Thats a pretty big list good list right there. I've only bought 2 out of those in U2 and MW2, not to mention Assassin's Creed 2 being on my radar, and christmas around the corner. There just isn't enough money to go around...

  • ZedX-14Pilot

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 2:46 pm GMT

    Another example of oversaturating the market with the 'now' genre. I personally have never played any of the hero/rock band games, and honestly, I still don't desire to. They seem boring to me.

  • mrzero1982pt2

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 1:42 pm GMT

    what fits better for this situation... "whoops" or "FAIL"?

  • MERGATROYDER

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 1:41 pm GMT

    I agree with everything *bm1212 has said. They are pushing rythm based games like they pushed DDR. Look where that is now.

  • Thatsmypunk

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 1:41 pm GMT

    It's a unique game, but I'm not a fan. Tried playing it at Fry's and couldn't get the hang of it. I'll just stick with GH/RB.

  • NuKkU

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 1:04 pm GMT

    i personally think it will be less

  • bm1212

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 12:27 pm GMT

    I honestly dont find the guitar hero series or the rock band franchises very appealing so i dont think that this new concept of having a dj hero game will change my mind anytime soon. Looks fun though, might have to have a go when one of my mates gets it.

  • Paul_GameFury

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 11:43 am GMT

    @daveneonfarrell
    Why do you care? How do they affect you? I personally don't like racing games but I see no reason for them to die. Just don't buy them if you don't like them.

  • Junior_AIN

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 11:42 am GMT

    Come on! This game is one of the lamest excuses for a game, along with Wii Fit (and basically any "Wii something"). When they showed this at E3 I literally laughed!

    I hope the gaming community soon gets cured from this rhythm and party games disease.

  • GolgoThirteen

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 11:02 am GMT

    I bought DJ Hero last Saturday and its actually pretty cool. Hopefully the DLC will have some more great mash-up mixes.

  • daveneonfarrell

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 10:34 am GMT

    hopefully rhythm games will die a quick death soon

  • BloodMist

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 10:10 am GMT

    I'm even more sick of this glut of rhythm games than i am all these analysts and their predictions.

  • thk123

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 8:45 am GMT

    One would hope that analysts are doing a little more than "guessing"

  • JUSTBLAZE_928

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 8:40 am GMT

    Yeah what alot of people dont seem to realize is that the Majority of people in this country are having some sort of trouble with money so there arent going to be a crazy amount of games being sold right now (except MW2) because Christmas is right around the corner. I expect Dj Hero to sell more thru the holidays as its a very good game for anybody whose a fan of music.

  • Icehearted

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 8:20 am GMT

    You guys know the old legends about there being a gigantic landfill full of old ET cartridges? I get the feeling plastic toy musical instruments for grownups will be the next big landfill legend.

  • Nickeinbtown

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 8:16 am GMT

    looks good. I can not wait to play.

  • YoungDab

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 7:23 am GMT

    Its really no different from Guitar Hero's kind of game play style..$o if this getting boring,Guitar Hero would aswell.It just has alot of downloadable content and the rockers $pend money for it.I didnt even want to touch Guitar Hero,I still havent played it yet..Its not my kind of game,the ladies would be like D is that you? Lol.

  • firedrakes

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 7:22 am GMT

    its nice but getting tired of buy new parts for music game.

  • mtymar

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 6:58 am GMT

    guitar hero gets pretty boring after awhile too

  • Bortson

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 6:39 am GMT

    Sales figures at this time of the year wont matter until after January 1st when holiday totals are in.

    But overall this year has been light (for me at least) in terms of games I want, unlike last year and way off from 2007 where I was buying a good game every week it seemed.

  • metal_militia89

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 5:37 am GMT

    MW2 isn't responsible for low sales. The game is simply boring after 2 days.

  • Dragonrider617

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 5:35 am GMT

    These sales were destroyed by MW2 in its first day released alone lol

  • SAF64WII

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 5:25 am GMT

    I've bought the Renegade Edition for Wii and I love it, it's worth the $
    Maybe because I've never bought a Guitar Hero game before
    I like this game it's kind of an Arcade game I remember called: "Beat Mania" (Konami). Also the metal/leather case is pretty cool

  • mtymar

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 4:30 am GMT

    alot of the same thing was said when the original guitar hero came out... so maybe it just needs time to get out there... i have it, and i'll admit i'm getting a bit bored of it already (doesnt help MW2 is out now).

    oh and nevermind the holidays are coming... so i wont be surprised if these numbers do get better.

  • rht992

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 4:01 am GMT

    i'm guessing releasing it close to MW2 didn't help

  • coldsauce09

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 3:23 am GMT

    my friend bought it and after 3 days of playing.... tada!! booooooooooooooooooooring.... meh..

  • pure_impact

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 3:11 am GMT

    i'll get it when it drops in price..too overpriced right now.

  • 2bitSmOkEy

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 2:50 am GMT

    Nah, go ahead and shift the blame from "releasing your other big plastic gimmick game at the same time as your new plastic gimmick game" to, " you have released to many plastic gimmick games and ripped to many people off. Now people are starting to realize how embarrassingly stupid this whole trend is".

  • DJSAV_101

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 12:33 am GMT

    I thought it was a pretty good game. Music was good but not the greatest and the turntable didn't break with in a week so thats a plus I just hope activision will support the game with GOOD DLC (thought the dlc out now was crap. Activision doesnt support their music games as well as Harmonix.) not just dish out a sequel every 4 months.

  • Volrath2099

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 12:05 am GMT

    This game is just getting dwarfed by "Giant" games like Dragon Age, CoD:MW2, Assasins Creed 2, Left 4 Dead:2 , etc. Those games are gonna pull a hell of a lot more gamers than this. Sorry to have pointed out the obvious, but your analysts should have figured that out a long time ago.

  • DFen

    Posted Nov 11, 2009 11:57 pm GMT

    wasnt into the guitar hero games or anything like that at all but this one looks really awesome I actually might buy it but why the renegade edition gotta be so damn expensive o well I'll just buy it for myself when christmas comes around

  • Solidsnake13_2

    Posted Nov 11, 2009 11:32 pm GMT

    Whats gonna make this game be hard to sell is because a lot of people are into and used to Guitar Heros and Rock Bands. When those gamers see this game they gonna be like WTF. I could never play Rock Band or Guitar Hero. But me I love this game and I had an absoute blast with the game. I can't play a mean guitar in Guitar Hero or Rock Band. But I sure can play the hell outta of DJ Hero

  • Xyandar

    Posted Nov 11, 2009 11:28 pm GMT

    I can see this being interesting for some people... but im pretty sure more than half the people into music games would prefer playing a guitar or drums....or maybe even vocals instead of grabbin turntables and turnin on some Eminem...lol

  • Sepewrath

    Posted Nov 11, 2009 11:18 pm GMT

    Well Activision said a couple of weeks ago that they didn't expect this one to fly off the shelves. Its a tough sell, its another expensive peripheral based music game at a time where people aren't spending as much on games and like people said, most believe there will just be a DJ Hero II next year. It just doesn't come off as a wise pick up in comparison to other big titles coming out in Q4.

  • mayankahuja

    Posted Nov 11, 2009 11:06 pm GMT

    cool

  • baystatethrashr

    Posted Nov 11, 2009 10:48 pm GMT

    i think they 175 copies i have yet to meet a person who has bought this game.

  • bennae66

    Posted Nov 11, 2009 10:28 pm GMT

    @soulless4now dont discredit yourself. you have more soul than any hero ever would

  • bennae66

    Posted Nov 11, 2009 10:26 pm GMT

    guitar hero, dj hero, band hero, shirtless hero, budgie smuggler hero, barbie hero, my first hero, fashion hero. MAN, enough enough ENOUGH. am i the only one on the planet that is sick of it all? ALL OF IT, not just dj hero. the whole series needs a firm backhander

  • spudster007

    Posted Nov 11, 2009 10:14 pm GMT

    Everyone who bought this game is not a hero.

  • jinzo9988

    Posted Nov 11, 2009 10:11 pm GMT

    The first Guitar Hero wasn't a monumental success when it was released and look where Guitar Hero is now. DJ Hero has potential but unfortunately it came around at a time where people are getting sick of rhythm games as opposed to when it was fresh and new when Guitar Hero came out.

    There's a monumental flaw in DJ Hero that I think will prevent it from ever reaching a good amount of success... the gamer audience. How many people play video games and like rap/hip-hop? Out of those who fit the bill, which ones are willing to pay the price of 2 or 3 games for DJ Hero over the latest game of basketball or the next big shooter? How many people from the established rock/metal music game crowd are willing to be open-minded and try DJ Hero(while keeping up with the bombardment of a new Guitar Hero/Rock Band every 4 or 5 months)?

    It's an unfortunate reality but DJ Hero has neither the audience nor the timing to be a big hit... on paper. You never know.

  • soulless4now

    Posted Nov 11, 2009 10:03 pm GMT

    I still think there's just to many "Hero" games out right now...

  • FarmFreshDX

    Posted Nov 11, 2009 9:27 pm GMT

    Who saw this coming? If you did, raise your hand.

    drangel_jam: post of the week, right there. I couldn't have said it better myself.

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