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The Lowdown
Pros: A great tool for people interested in mixing music.
Cons: Requires the hard drive (BB Pack) and network adaptor just to run
the software.
 Purchase
at Play-Asia
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Unlike
the Xbox's built in hard drive relatively few games support the PS2 HDD
(known as the BB Pack in Japan). Since its release in America and its
upcoming release in Europe only Final Fantasy XI and Resident Evil
Outbreak support the peripheral. In Japan a few more games support it
like Bomberman Online and Everybody's Golf 4 (Hot Shots Golf 4).
Honestly though Final Fantasy XI is the main reason why people own even
considered buying the hard disc drive, until now. Sony's innovated DJ
Box gives the Xbox Music Maker and MP3 support a run for its money.
First of all DJ Box isn't a game. It doesn't try to be the next
Beatmania or the next Amplitude. DJ Box is as the game states "a
futuristic DJ tool". It's really designed as an introductory DJ package
and with turntables outselling guitars as the number one instrument it
isn't a bad idea. The piece of software gives you two turntables
and a mixer under your control. To start the game out you need to rip
your CDs to the hard drive. Each CD you rip adds to your "record bag".
You can play songs directly from the record bag and use the PS2 as a
digital music player or you can mix songs together.
DJ Box has advanced tools in such a tiny package. Your not just
getting two virtual turntables and a shoddy mixer. You're getting a
display that shows the beats per minute of a song, pitch control and
even a display that shows the measures within a song. If you aren't into
DJing this may be a bit overwhelming, but all of these tools actually
make learning how to be a DJ even simpler. Let's take this back a few
steps and explain the concepts of being a DJ. DJs take two
different songs and try to blend them in as smoothly as possible.
Different songs play at different speeds, which is why having a beat per
minute counter is handy tool. When you are ready to mix in a new song
you "cue" the song in the next turntable and adjust the new song's speed
by changing the pitch control. Once you get the beats to match you can
blend the song in different points. In theory its a simple concept,
doing it can be complex at first.
That's why all of the features in DJ Box are aimed to help new DJs
out. The measure meter shows you if two songs are lining up well. If
both songs are around the same measures you know you can blend them with
out the songs being off beat. This is a tool that physical mixers can't
display. Another nifty tool in the package is an "autosync" feature that
will automatically set the BPM for you, taking one of the steps out of
the scenario. This way novice DJs don't have to worry or focus on
beatmatching. Instead they focus on where to drop a new song in.
Of course, this simplifies the experience of being a DJ, but it is nice
to have when you start out.
Advanced DJs will find that they won't need to use all of the tools
designed to teach people how to DJ. Instead they will be more interested
in neat things like the visualizers and the fact you can save sets on
your hard drive. One of the things about being a DJ is that recording
sets is a pain. You have to either carry around a laptop or a mini disc
player to plug in your mixer. With DJ Box you can record sets directly
on to the PS2 hard drive. You can cut and edit sets after they're saved
so you can tweak them to aural perfection. Another nice feature is
having a wide variety of music at your fingertips. CDs always have been
cheaper to purchase than vinyl and the DJ box holds up to
40GB or so of music. Which means on your tiny PS2 you can hold the
equivalent of hundred crates of records. The visualizers are another fun
tool that DJ Box offers. In the spirit of other multimedia players you
get weird nebulas, fighting robots and other effects you would see at a
night club. Are these useful to entertain a party? Of course they are!
Are DJs ready to turnover their tables in exchange for a PS2 anytime
soon? Probably not, but DJ Box does offer people who are aspire to be a
mixmaster a chance to do so. At the price of around $50, DJ Box comes in
cheap compared to a $300 package with two turntables and a mixer. The
price is a bit misleading because you need to have the hard drive to run
the game. If you don't already have a hard drive there is a DJ Box
premium package that comes with the broadband adapter and a 40 GB hard
drive. The premium package clocks in at about $200, which is a bit
pricey. Even at the $200 price point DJ Box is sure to pique some
interest in the growing number of DJs out there.
The menus have English text too them, but the important tutorials
are all in Japanese. If you can't read Japanese and are expecting this
to teach you how to DJ you may want to wait for an English version.
US Bound?
There's been no official US announcement and this piece of software
was quietly released in Japan. However, this is something unique and
something that has a wider audience in both American and Europe on top
of Japan. So it seems natural that Sony would capitalize on the market
outside of Japan.
Overall
If you're curious or interested in DJing, DJ Box is the
perfect starting point.
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