B-SIDE: The DJ Hero Turntable
If you didn’t get to see or try DJ Hero for yourself at this year’s rAge, here’s the detailed lowdown on what you’re paying all that money for, game aside:
Specifics
Remarkably sturdy, the turntable sits at about 37cm by 23cm, standing 4cm deep. It’s composed of two parts: the black effects panel, and the silver record panel. On the back of the record panel is a latch, which releases the effects panel for smaller storage. Large rubber feet on the bottom of the record panel, and smaller ones under the effects panel, keep the entire thing from sliding around.
Effects Panel
In the middle of the panel sits a crossfade slider, and above that lies an effects dial. The matte-surfaced Euphoria button is adjacent to the effects dial, and right at the top hides a small flip-open compartment that covers the regular Xbox controller directional pad, guide button and standard gamepad buttons. The crossfader has a lot of play, presumably to accommodate larger hands or more voracious DJing styles. The slider only needs to be tweaked slightly left and right for the game to accept it, so some people will use minimalistic motions while others can happily slap it to the sides if they want to flourish. To mark “centre”, the slider has a small click when it’s right in the middle. The effects dial rotates freely, and the Euphoria button lights up red when you have available Euphoria. The standard gamepad buttons are useful, since navigating the in-game menus with the slider and effects knob is possible, but not ideal.
Record Panel
The “record”, with its three colour-coded buttons and mirror-studded edge, has a diameter of 21cm and spins freely. The three colour-coded buttons on the record are concave with a texture to them to prevent slipping (though using a thumb on the studded perimeter of the record helps most with that when doing scratches, especially ones involving the blue button), while the record surface itself is corrugated with grooves like an actual record.
Controller Verdict
The construction of the entire turntable is solid, with zero creaking even if you press down harder than you should on the record or buttons. The only part that feels slightly “cheap” is the crossfader, which is clearly designed to withstand an abusive gamer but suffers for it in the tactile sense by feeling very loose. Not an issue when you’re playing, though. So is this additional hunk of plastic invading your living space worth the asking price of the game?
The honest answer: not entirely. It’s going to take some metal construction and a bit more design work to make the peripheral feel worth the price tag, though obviously this would pose a weight issue when shipping the game, which would raise the price all over again. The realistic answer, is that just like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, you already know whether you’re going to pay the money for what the game has to offer, either because you tried it somewhere and liked it, or because it’s just “your thing”. In which case, the controller is good. Very good. To peripheral manufacturer Red Octane’s credit, while it is the most complex, it is also the highest quality peripheral they’ve ever produced.
