Time to put down that fake guitar plugged into your PS3 and get ready for some hard core scratching. Activision, the same company that released “Guitar Hero” is now set to release “DJ Hero” next summer which is based off of the fine art of turntable mixing and scratching.

According to game site Kotaku, “DJ Hero” has been in development for nearly two years with the most difficult part of development being the design of the turntable/controller. Currently, the “controller” looks a lot like a simplified DJ Deck which includes a platter for scratching which will act like the strum toggle on “Guitar Hero.” Above the platter are three buttons for sampling. The controller also includes a cross fader and a sound effects dial which will act like the whammy bar in “Guitar Hero.”

Kotaku also adds “Instead of flowing the musical notes down a guitar neck, DJ Hero will flow the music down and around a virtual record in a half arc. Either left top to middle bottom if you are left handed, or right top to middle bottom if you are right handed. To play you will have to either hold a sample button and scratch, just hold a button or just scratch as the neon icons flow around the virtual vinyl.”

The game in its current form features all mash-ups, for example Beyonce Vs Jimi Hendrix, 50 cent Vs Beastie Boys. Of course the final track list depends on licensing costs which we can run in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. This could actually be really cool or really cheesy depending on the track listing and the interface with the turntables.

If Activision wants to market this right they will utilize a marketing strategy that focuses on current local hip-hop DJs and less famous players in hip-hop that have the right street cred and not just the mainstream artists that every Top 40 station plays. The support of the hip-hop and DJing community will be imperative. If they can get the support of the DJ community the way Pepsi did with the DJ Division then Activision might have a good thing on their hands. I’m sure the deck will have heavy branding as well. I hear Numark is in the running. Too bad we have to wait until next summer to find out how “DJ Hero” will turn out.

Sorry this is not a pic of the “DJ Hero” controller…I wish.