Brutal Legend sells 216K, DJ Hero 123K

Double Fine's heavy metal odyssey doesn't sell out--but does outsell former publisher's massively hyped turntable rhythm game.

Besides seeing another double-digit contraction of the US game industry, October also saw the launch of two high-profile music-related games: DJ Hero (October 27) and Brutal Legend (October 13).

Not even Daft Punk could make DJ Hero a hit.

The two well-reviewed titles aren't direct competitors: The former is the first-turntable-based rhythm game from the publisher of Guitar Hero, the latter a heavy metal-fantasy action/real-time strategy hybrid. However, their respective publishers did enter into a legal feud, with Activision suing Electronic Arts in June to prevent the release of Brutal Legend, which was originally to be distributed by Vivendi Games. (Vivendi was subsumed as part of the July 2008 Activision Blizzard merger.)

With the legal spat settled out of court in August, it was unclear which party prevailed. However, it now looks like EA and developer Double Fine will be having the last laugh. According to NPD Group sales figures obtained by GameSpot, Brutal Legend outsold the massively hyped DJ Hero by a nearly 2-to-1 margin in the US during October.

Brutal Legend didn't exactly rock retailers.

Released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Brutal Legend sold over 215,000 units, compared with DJ Hero's 122,300 units on the 360, PS3, Wii, and PlayStation 2. The DJ Hero total--which was below even pessimistic analysts' estimates--includes the $200 renegade edition, which comes with a combination turntable peripheral case and stand. The regular edition of the game--released two weeks after Brutal Legend--costs $120, with the PlayStation 2 version bearing a $100 price.

OCTOBER US SALES:
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) - 3,300 units

172 Comments

  • Bardock47

    Posted Nov 20, 2009 6:38 pm PT

    Also, what does it normally cost to make a video game? I mean I'd like to know if its positve, negative, or even.

  • Bardock47

    Posted Nov 20, 2009 6:37 pm PT

    Shame that such a great game like brutal legend didn't sell well. I like to think if video game sales in terms of the movie industry, if the average ticket for a movie is say, 10 bucks, and the game is 60, take the number sold times six and you'll get the "movie" counterpart. It helps me put it into prespective better.

  • MetallicFPSNut

    Posted Nov 18, 2009 1:15 pm PT

    Well, at least Brutal Legend's already outsold Psychonauts...

  • ninja_where

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 7:00 pm PT

    Proves that Metal >>>> Hip-Hop and Guitars >> Turntables and Bands >> DJs

    Metal lives on! \m/

  • DaGamer444

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 6:12 pm PT

    Lol, Activision, that's what you get for trying to sue the wrong company

  • C_T_SKYE

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 5:09 pm PT

    Activision makes harmonix look bad, activison is milking their hero games, Harmonix doesnt milk theirs, i believe i dont exactly remember but there wont be another rock band till 2011

  • jeffv541

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 4:10 pm PT

    believe it or not, "guitar hero" was a real term years before the game came out, but "dj hero" was NEVER a term, they just made it up to cash in on the gullible youth of the world.

  • ScionofEntropy

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 1:34 pm PT

    "Not even Daft Punk could make DJ Hero a hit."

    Funniest caption ever, for obvious reasons.

  • downloadthefile

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 12:12 pm PT

    i hate how activision pumps out a new unit of the same garbage every time.

  • XenoLair

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 11:15 am PT

    Brutal Legend is awsome... more advertisement is needed for that game.

  • DanteDelacoix

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 5:51 am PT

    true enough the gameplay for brutal legend was linear. But its the story line and the fantastic soundtrack that will make me go back to it. As for DJ hero im not surprised, getting fed up of the 'hero' brand.
    I still do like Rockband but have not gone into the Beatles one, simply because Rockband 2 is the best for me. Great Setlist and great downloadable songs. RB2 imo is all you need in these series of rhythm games

  • neuroboy

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 4:22 am PT

    Creatively devoid war porn (CoD:MW2) sells 4.7 million in 24 hours, yet Brutal Legend only sells 216,000 in the entirety of October. Makes me ashamed to be a gamer. (I wrote the same message on the MW2 page and expect to be flamed to hell)

  • imperial_agent

    Posted Nov 15, 2009 9:36 pm PT

    Burtal Legend... was okay at best. It was a standard platformer-action with some driving scenes that weren't particularly strong, and a weird RTS element which made the gameplay grind to screeching halt. I was enjoying the game until all of a sudden I have to learn this complicated RTS-style game mechanic. It totally ruined it for me. Oh wait, it's got Jack Black so that makes it cool? I dunno, the game itself wasn't particularly any better than many of othe other platformer action games I've played.

    DJ Hero is simply awful. I'm glad it did poorly. It's just really bad. It COULD have been good... it was almost close to being good, but there is too many design flaws. Not to mention, it costs WAY too much.

  • Jedilink109

    Posted Nov 15, 2009 6:27 pm PT

    Ok why is everyone bashing Brutal Legend anyways!?!?!?!?!? I mean seriously.

  • Jedilink109

    Posted Nov 15, 2009 6:25 pm PT

    @bigart6662000

    Get the frak out dude. Brutal Legend is awesome. I don't know why this game isn't on the top of the biggest selling lists. I bought it and it is fantastically awesome!!!!!!!

  • Thappers

    Posted Nov 15, 2009 1:07 pm PT

    I bought DJ Hero the day it came out and it's a fantastic game. It doesn't have quite the same longevity as the Rock Band/Guitar Hero franchises because it is essentially a single-player game but it is amazingly fun to play and the music is simply incredible. The problem is that I'm a 30-something bloke with enough disposable income to make this purchase, and I'm old enough to be confident in listening to a diverse range of music. As a youngster I hated anything that wasn't rock, and there's no way I'd pay this kind of money for a game. So right now I'm in the perfect consumer demographic, but it's a pretty small demographic.

  • bigart6662000 posted Nov 15, 2009 11:30 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    bigart6662000

    Posted Nov 15, 2009 11:30 am PT (hide)

    these 2 games blow hard id rather play a chinese math game

  • MATTHEW820

    Posted Nov 15, 2009 8:08 am PT

    I, as a consumer, don't really care how many games Brutal Legend or DJ Hero sold. Consumers shouldn't care about that what they should care about is if they like the game they bought, since thats going to effect you more then the sales. I loved brutal Legend so I'm happy, Didnt go near Dj hero

  • CosmicTerror

    Posted Nov 15, 2009 7:52 am PT

    Maybe these companies will finally realize that gamers are tired of this FLOOD of rhythm games.

    Guitar Hero
    Guitar Hero 2
    Guitar Hero 3
    Guitar Hero 4
    Guitar Hero 5
    Guitar Hero 80's
    Guitar Hero Metallica
    Guitar Hero Aerosmith
    Guitar Hero On Tour
    Guitar Hero Smash Hits
    Band Hero
    DJ Hero
    Rock Band
    Rock Band 2
    Rock Band Beatles

    All of these progressively mediocre titles of samey-ness, all priced at between 80-150 bucks on release.

    As for Brutal Legend, I'm glad to see such a unique and creative game performing decently on it's first month. I'm happy that I bought the game, as it's f'n awesome.

    It's certainly doing better than Psychonaughts, which only sold 400k over 2 years from release. This is just after 1 month and it's already more than half of that.

  • rht992

    Posted Nov 15, 2009 4:42 am PT

    Hmmmm both of my least favorite companies in the same news story. i think I'm in hell!

  • SecularSage

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 11:58 pm PT

    DJ Hero is fun, but it's too expensive. You really have to play it for awhile to understand its value. It's still not worth $120, let alone $200 for the renegade edition.

    Activision really needs to learn how to create more accurate projections of its ideal pricing for future releases. Few customers want to take a risk on a game that has such an expensive peripheral for such a niche scene.

  • firehawk998

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 8:59 pm PT

    Heres a simple reason why DJ Heros sales were bad with $120 dollars most people bought Uncharted 2 or Borderlands. This music games price is set so high that it seems buying this game is the worst idea.

  • Avenger1324

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 5:55 pm PT

    DJ Hero has fallen massively short of those initial expectations - 1.6m predicted sales, turns into just 123k sales. Ouch

  • melty3219 posted Nov 14, 2009 2:12 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    melty3219

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 2:12 pm PT (hide)

    woohoo brutal legend failed hard. man if only the lawsuit by activision worked then no one would have to subdue themselves to the pain of playing it!

  • witide

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 11:33 am PT

    Well, I enjoyed playing DJ Hero and I hope they make more. DLC would be nice, and maybe an updated sequel in a few years.

  • redmachine

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 10:28 am PT

    I think people are hero'd out if you know what i mean. I say i'm glad that DJ hero failed. The people have spoken, it's their money, and DJ hero was always supposed to be just a money maker, and a game made based on some marketing stats guy, who said they could make money on it based on "X" figures. Well the publc just fed you your own S^8T. Brutal Legend was pretty fun, but i found the missions uninspiring, and eventually it went back to the rental store.

  • solidine

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 7:42 am PT

    Brtual Legend was kind of a let down. Certianly worth playing though and at times really funny, but it could have been so much more. That said, DJ Hero was just a dumb idea. I imagine there are many people who either aren't interested, or don't have the money and space for yet another fake instrument.

  • daveg1 posted Nov 14, 2009 7:25 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    daveg1

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 7:25 am PT (hide)

    i dont know how brutal legend sold that many its utter rubbish!!

  • lukas1051

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 6:44 am PT

    The truth is, DJ Hero costs too much. That's all there is to it.

  • airsoftmanic

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 6:10 am PT

    while both of these games werent even on my radar at all, i love seeing DJ hero completely and utterly fail.
    serves Activision right for trying to milk a franchise for all its worth.
    for me, the "hero" games ended at guitar hero 3.

  • SuprSaiyanRockr

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 5:35 am PT

    I sure am glad Activision chucked Brutal Legend. Can't imagine how badly that game would have been ruined if they had made it. not to mention milked to death.

    was a new controler even necessary for DJ hero? although less authentic, I'm sure a regular controller would have been fine. wonder what Activision is going to do with the mountain of unsold turntables...

  • rasco2005

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 9:22 pm PT

    Aside from all of this, I think the DJ Hero idea is great but they have to make it worth while for people to make the dive and from the looks a DJ Hero 2 could be a ways off. Its cool but I cant spend $120 for one game and then cross my fingers and hope for a followup.

  • godzillavskong

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 8:55 pm PT

    That massively hyped turntable game costs almost as much as a Wii or 360! I can't see spending $120 for a game, not even one with as much hype as this one. I think I"ll actually pick up Brutal Legend before DJ Hero. Once I do get DJ Hero, they might start actually calling me the "Mighty Witey" or "The Amazing Caucasion". JK.

  • feleas

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 8:37 pm PT

    EA and Double Fine did indeed have the last laugh. On a serious note, I don't care that Brutal Legend didn't rock the retail stores with sky-breaking sales like Modern Warfare 2 recently did, because I bought Brutal Legend for what it stood for, a tribute to the time and age I always wished I was born in, and lived my life worshipping. So thank you Double Fine for making the ultimate tribute to metal even if it didn't break the 1 million sales mark.

  • DiabloNeonX

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 8:32 pm PT

    BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Serves Activision right. Nothing fills me with more joy than to watch Activision fall on it's face.

    I loved Brütal Legend. It was such a fantastic game.

  • Kitty_Fields

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 8:17 pm PT

    I can see DJ Hero being a game I might enjoy, but not for $120. Seriously, that is WAY too expensive. With a price point like that it's no wonder its sales were so poor. At least with games like Guitar Hero you can buy cheap 3rd-party guitars and get the game cheap (used, on sale, etc.) separately.

  • genosis27

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 4:34 pm PT

    @ Ruffin316: I agree with you there. I honestly didn't see either games selling well. The general market audience just wasn't there. Go up and ask 10 people this question. "Would you rather play guitar, or be a DJ"? I guarantee you 8 out of 10 say guitar, which is why DJ hero sold poorly. Brutal Legends also sold poorly but didn't have near the investments in the company or expectations that DJ Hero had, so its revenue is actually probably satisfactory to the developer, publisher, and stock investors.

  • Ruffin316

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 4:24 pm PT

    @genosis27: Okay, I admit I'm pretty ignorant towards the economical side of gaming. So, you got me there.

    But in defense of myself, consider the fan-base, and even the very cultures surrounding the music genre's supporting the games: Brutal Legend is Metal influenced, while DJ Hero is Hip-hop influenced. There are a lot of people nothing short of crying over the fact that DJ Hero features mostly hip-hop, with only a smattering of electronica, pop, and rock. The average person sees hip-hop not as a culture as diverse as the rainbow, but rather as, say, 50 Cent going off about "how he's gonna be No. 1 on the Billboard again".

    Considering that, I find it astounding for DJ Hero's numbers to be as large as they are. Brutal Legend, I guess it's disappointing if you're going off the same mindset I am, but it's also not surprising due to the lack of promotional marketing and such.

  • Ruffin316

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 4:13 pm PT

    And typical, I defend DJ Hero over Brutal Legend (which I personally found quite lame), and I get negative points, probably because I actually... oh, I dunno... enjoy DJ Hero.

    I wonder... how many negative points am I gonna get for me admitting that I don't and never really cared for Brutal Legend, but am having an absolute blast with DJ Hero?

    This will be better than watching cable. I know it will be.

  • genosis27

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 4:11 pm PT

    @Ruffin 316 I am not a fan of either games, however your wrong about the sales portion. Even though Brutal Legend had the jump on DJ Hero, its sales were extremely disappointing to publishers and investors. 122,300 sales combined on all four systems is honestly quite pathetic. It would be so even if it acquired those sells on day one. Compare those sells to the Guitar Hero franchise, or any other high rated title for that mater. Brutal Legends sales are even low, but weren't projected to be very high due to consumer interest.

  • kvan33

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 4:07 pm PT

    I'll pick up Brutal Legend when the price drops to $30. I'll pick up DJ Hero when hell freezes over.

  • Ruffin316 posted Nov 13, 2009 3:33 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    Ruffin316

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 3:33 pm PT (hide)

    This is an unfair and quite asinine comparison. A Hack & Slash/RTS vs a Music Game, and the two were released about 2 weeks apart on top of that? Of course Brutal Legend is gonna have better sales figures, it's been out longer! Sure, DJ Hero may only have about 40% of the sales figures that BL has, for it to be that high in that short a time is remarkable; I'm sure that's a slap in the face to everyone thinking DJ Hero would miss the beat (pun intended).

    Overall, disregarding the thinly-veiled "metal vs hip-hop" argument (especially since a lot of people don't realize that they're simply two sides of the same coin, much like genius and madness), this article is a joke.

  • Crossel777 posted Nov 13, 2009 3:12 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    Crossel777

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 3:12 pm PT (hide)

    Brutal Legend wasn't that good of a game simply put.

  • duke-nukem11

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 2:40 pm PT

    brutal legend was a blast. i wanna see a sequel. but this time they need GWAR!

  • NuKkU

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 2:18 pm PT

    No surprise to be quite honest again i actually thought Brutal Legend sold more then i thought and DJ Hero also sold more then i thought

  • halo2_4_pc

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 1:51 pm PT

    Wow, what's with the hate on DJ Hero? I understand how people can be skeptical about the concept and don't like peripheral-centered games, but give it a chance. I am a big music game fan, but I got to play a few songs of DJ Hero and it was actually really fun and I'd recommend it to anyone. The learning curve is a lot steeper than something like GH/RB, but it's WAY more fun than I expected and the steeper the learning curve with a music game, the easier it is to put some more time into it. I'm also expecting DJ Hero to sell more copies during the holiday season because it is an expensive game and a lot of people can't afford it themselves.
    As for Brutal Legend, I liked the game but I really wish it just stuck with the action-based gameplay instead of the RTS gameplay. And the soundtrack kicks ass.

  • Emraldo

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 1:46 pm PT

    So DJ hero got half the sales... in 1/5 the time? That doesn't seem too shabby to me. Glad to see Brutal Legend doing well though, maybe it won't be as long between Double Fine releases next time!

  • Somebody89

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 1:13 pm PT

    What do you expect no one out there wants to drop $120 on a single game like this. Also because it's Activision we all know they will have DJ Hero 2 with enhanced turn tables next year so no thanks.

  • amkalfus

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 1:05 pm PT

    i like DJ hero but it is very much a niche genre, especially in the US. but i like it for sure and bought the special edition day 1! if they dont make another one, thats chill. just give us good DLC! lol i need to get brutal legend too though... so many good games!

  • enoslives7

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 12:56 pm PT

    DJ Hero is an epic fail. Whoever drops cash on that steaming pile should be publicly executed.

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