Genius, Numark Detail Scratch Peripheral

Turntable maker Numark and publisher Genius Products have detailed the peripheral that will ship with DJ rhythm game Scratch: The Ultimate DJ for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It's called the Scratch Deck, and its reveal comes not long after Activision revealed its own, slightly similar peripheral for rival DJ Hero. Amid the contentious and complicated legal battle between the companies and their dueling products, Genius and Numark is choosing to highlight the fact that their peripheral is made by a genuine DJ technology company. "For decades, Numark has been developing turntables, DJ mixers and digital DJ controllers. We know what professional DJs demand, and we used that knowledge to produce Scratch Deck," says Adam Cohen, Director of Business Development, Numark. According to the company, the Scratch Deck incorporates a "free-spinning, touch-sensitive" turntable with a crossfader and five drum pads designed to allow players to manipulate sounds in real time, perform and customize tracks. It says the peripheral is designed for both left and right hand configurations, and claims that the disc feels like real vinyl. "It was critical that we deliver an authentic DJ experience to gamers, whether they be experienced DJs or players who have never put a needle to vinyl," says Cohen. Notably, the game promises to let players upload and mix their own samples using a compatible USB microphone, in addition to the option of selecting from 60 "battle records" that ship with the game. The Scratch game features the involvement of hip hop notable Quincy "QD3" Jones III, who also praises the peripheral. ""We are very excited to partner with them to deliver the most authentic DJ experience for gamers and look forward to letting gamers and Hip Hop enthusiasts get their hands on the controller for the first time at E3," says Jones. Scratch: The Ultimate DJ is planned for a Fall release, but has not received an explicit date. Similarly, Activision recently announced that DJ Hero was also on its Fall slate when it unveiled its own peripheral controller; much of the legal argument between the two companies hinges on allegations that Activision attempted to hold back Scratch's launch in order to be the first to market.