WorthPlaying writes: "The idea of creating a peripheral-controlled video game based on being a DJ isn't an entirely new concept. Konami released one for Japanese arcades in 1997 called Beatmania, which later came to the U.S. in 1998. While it got some moderate success in the arcades, that success and popularity weren't there when it was finally released to the PlayStation 2 in early 2006. Some attribute the lack of success to the track list, which consisted of songs very unfamiliar to most players. Others say that the time wasn't right for a peripheral-based game to come out, especially for a system that was getting long in the tooth. Whatever the reason, Beatmania became nothing more than an arcade success and a home console footnote. Three years later, Activision and FreeStyle Games are trying their hand at making a DJ game with a slightly different approach. The result is DJ Hero, and it is one of the fresher rhythm games to come out in some time."
