ONE TURNTABLE TO RULE THEM ALL DJ HERO VS SCRATCH: THE ULTIMATE DJ
on Joystiq
by David Hinkle
Submitted: May 27, 2009
Scratch: The Ultimate DJ(Xbox 360)
With two high profile DJ-‘em-up games coming out in DJ Hero and Scratch: The Ultimate DJ, many are likely scratching their heads at which turntable and promised experience is going to be superior. Well, we can’t comment on the latter (until E3, anyway), but we can take a look at the two competing controllers. We stacked them side-by-side for your viewing pleasure and compared all the known details in our gallery below. Enjoy!.
Turntables
First up, we look at the turntables. DJ Hero’s controller goes for the standard size, with a much larger turntable that incorporates buttons directly onto the face of it. Also, it appears to have a bit more texture to it, and is overall a bit more basic through the use of only three buttons to Scratch’s five. As for Scratch: The Ultimate DJ, its turntable is a lot smaller (think 45s vs regular records) and touch-sensitive, and even spins on its own, like a real turntable. Also, the turntable for Scratch moves any buttons off the face of the turntable itself and places them on the side, allowing players to navigate menus through a d-pad, as well as the other standard buttons. For the authentic DJ experience, it looks like Scratch wins in the turntable department.
Lefty-Compatible
Both controllers will be able to fit left-handed players in its own way. DJ Hero’s turntable controller supports left-handed players through a detachable crossfader, uh, attachment, as we’ve only seen in this sneaky shot of the entire peripheral in action. It can attach to either side, allowing rightys and leftys to drop the block-rockin’ beats with ease.
Scratch: The Ultimate DJ also allows left-handed players to get into the action by simply turning the controller 180 degrees, as it was designed symmetrically.
Off to the side
There aren’t any good images of the DJ Hero turntable’s attachable crossfader (though a Spike promo did get us a grainy look at the entire thing here). The side attachment features a crossfader, as well as some other buttons, the use for which is unconfirmed right now. As for Scratch: The Ultimate DJ, its turntable controller features a fixed side area with 5 Akai Pro MPC-style drum pads and a crossfader.
The business of buttons
We briefly touched on the number of buttons (Hero’s 3 compared to Scratch’s 5), but we can go a bit more in depth. The buttons on the DJ Hero turntable are a lot longer and skinnier, forgoing the chunky, squared style of Scratch’s controller. Each turntable’s buttons are also color-codes, as is the norm, and stack side-by-side for easy tapping. It should be noted that Scratch’s peripheral actually maps controller buttons, whereas there clearly isn’t enough on the DJ Hero controller to do so. Looks like DJ Hero’s controller is for DJ Hero alone.
For the Casual, for the hardcore
Until we start to see track lists and prices, there isn’t going to be much else to compare these two games than with their respective controllers. At first glance, DJ Hero appears to be something aimed at casual players who enjoy the DJ experience, but aren’t moonlighting at da club on Saturday nights. Scratch: The Ultimate DJ’s turntable controller appears to be the opposite, inviting the hardcore DJ fans who DO moonlight on Saturday nights through its smaller, touch-sensitive turntable and traditional DJ layout. So, will you be the Ultimate DJ, or a DJ Hero?