Jay-Z, Eminem and DJ Hero Join in Collaboration to Bring New Music and DJ Culture to Gaming Platform

May 29, 2009

Jay-Z, Eminem and DJ Hero Join in
Collaboration to Bring New Music and DJ Culture to Gaming Platform

Innovative Partnership Includes
Special Edition Featuring Music CDs from Both Artists

Jay-Z and Eminem – two of the music
industry’s most influential and successful artists – will join DJ Hero, the
highly-anticipated new game that is bringing DJ culture and new music genres
including hip-hop, electronic, R&B and soul music to the successful Guitar Hero
platform, Activision Publishing, Inc. announced today.

Jay-Z and Eminem will contribute
some of their popular songs to DJ Hero and will collaborate on a special branded
edition of the game that will include an advanced version of the game’s
turntable controller, a metal traveling case that transforms into a
performance-ready DJ stand and two exclusive music CD compilations featuring
greatest hits and new mixes from each artist. Jay-Z and Eminem will both provide
downloadable content later this year that will give DJ Hero fans fresh mixes of
their material.

“Jay-Z and Eminem are innovators and
they share a vision for expanding their genre by letting fans embrace technology
and music in new and exciting ways to get the most out of the experience,” said
Dan Rosensweig, president and CEO of Guitar Hero. “Jay-Z and Eminem embody an
entire generation and will continue to influence popular culture. Now their fans
can experience what it’s like to play the music, mix the music and compete with
themselves and others in a game that expands with the user.”

“A DJ has the ability to use music
to control people’s emotions and is responsible for the entire vibe of a room, a
club or a party,” said Jay-Z. “DJ Hero is the first video game that allows
everyone to enjoy the unique experience of creating that environment.”

“I came up doing freestyle battles
on local stages with other MCs and DJs,” said Eminem. “DJ’ing is an essential
part of hip-hop and DJ Hero will give people all over the chance to experience
the music from the other side of the turntables.”

DJ Hero immerses fans into DJ
culture and a sea of music as they take turns with their friends, scratching
songs, playing along to the hottest tracks and ruling the party. The game’s
innovative turntable controller was created exclusively for the game and
features familiar DJ tools including a fully-rotating turntable, sample buttons,
effects dial and crossfader. Players master various DJ techniques as they play
along to visual cues for scratching, blending, crossfading and sampling, and can
also add their own creative spark by choosing to add a variety of effects,
samples and scratches. Social expression is heightened with euphoric multiplayer
gameplay where two DJs can battle competitively or have a player join in to
emcee over any track in the game using any USB compatible microphone.
Additionally, gamers can rock together as DJ Hero features DJ-guitar exclusive
mixes played with a turntable controller and Guitar Hero guitar controller.

DJ Hero is part of a highly
anticipated fall video game lineup that includes Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero,
which will redefine how consumers interact with music. Through unique
partnerships with some of the hottest rock, hip-hop and top 40 artists, these
games are bringing more fun ways to explore, share and participate in music for
millions of people around the world.

DJ Hero is being developed by
FreeStyleGames for the Xbox 360, the PLAYSTATION 3 and PlayStation 2 and the Wii
system from Nintendo. The game is not yet rated by the ESRB. For more
information about DJ Hero, please visit
djhero.com.