Activision ordered to return Scratch DJ

By Robert Purchese Published 21 April, 2009

Court rules against DJ Hero publisher.

A US judge has ordered Activision to return the source code for Scratch: The Ultimate DJ to Genius Products.

Genius filed suit after Activision - which is making its own DJ Hero game - quietly bought Scratch developer 7 Studios, claiming to GamesIndustry.biz the move was "clearly an attempt to prevent the game from getting to market ahead of its own prospective game" and "misappropriation of trade secrets".

Activision announced earlier this week that the court had found "no evidence of any wrongdoing" by the publisher, and therefore seen no reason to grant a restraining order.

A recently-published transcript of the hearing proves this, although the facts were slightly skewed: Activision has done no wrong, but new-purchase 7 Studios has, resulting in more-or-less the same outcome.

"It is actually very straightforward," Judge James C. Chalfant told Activision lawyers (reported by GameSpot). "They [Genius] hired you [7 Studios]. They have terminated the deal. Their agreement requires return of materials.

"No matter how you slice this banana, they are entitled to the work product back. I don't know why your client would want to continue working on a project for which they have been terminated."

Judge Chalfant ordered Activision to turn over the source code yesterday, and told the persistent lawyers they could try to argue otherwise in another hearing scheduled for 6th May.

"I can't under any circumstance think why you would be entitled to keep the source code," concluded Judge Chalfant. "Show me anywhere where you can refuse to turn over source code because it incorporates your pre-existing tools and technology.

"They [Genius] can use it for any purpose. It is theirs. It belongs to them. They paid USD 6 million for it. I'm done."

Genius will go on to "aggressively pursue" its claims for damages resulting from Activision's behaviour.

Scratch: The Ultimate DJ - for PS3 and Xbox 360 - is tentatively scheduled for release this year. There are videos and screenshots on the Scratch: The Ultimate DJ gamepage.

DJ Hero was revealed by Activision in January this year and will be developed by FreeStyle Games. Platforms haven't been confirmed, but logos for Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation feature on the DJ Hero website. The game is due out later this year.

Both musical games will come with a turntable peripheral.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (17) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Eraysor #1 3 years ago

    Activision really are the new EA. Did EA ever do anything as underhanded as this?

  • VicViper #2 3 years ago

    @Eraysor

    No not that I'm aware of, they only stoop to the point of not paying thier employees over time or the full amount of thier contracted wage. They do just outright buy studios to get games cirteron and bioware come to mind

  • Rirekon #3 3 years ago

    A judge using common-sense? Bloody hell, more power to that man!

  • macksed #4 3 years ago

    "No matter how you slice this banana" quote of the day.... probs a common phrase...? it's the first I've heard of it though!

  • Freelancepolice #5 3 years ago

    "of not paying thier employees over time "

    Hehe, evil [majority of games companies]

  • JaysonG #6 3 years ago

    Looking forward to DJ Hero. Guitar Hero never resonated with me due to my musical preferences. I hope it's good.

  • Reihn #7 3 years ago

    @macksed

    Well, the yanks are very fond of saying "No matter which way you carve the turkey, it's still a turkey".

    Agreed that it's a refreshing thing to hear from a judge! : )

  • Reihn #8 3 years ago

    Also, strikes me that if the peripherals were decent enough, these games *could* actually teach you to DJ 'for real'. : ) Think about it - if it taught you to listen for the beats in the music, pick up on them, then merge the two tracks together using your fingers on the turntables . . shit, that'd be great for a beginner DJ. It wouldn't matter if the turntables were plastic, as long as they had the right feel and quality. And all that visual feedback on screen so you know for certain when you're doing it wrong or right . . . It could be a very different animal to the guitar based games, in terms of the 'why don't you just lean a real instrument' criticism.
    Edited by Reihn at 21/04/09 @ 12:29

  • jaxon58 #9 3 years ago

    Won't someone think of the shelf-space??

  • madgerald Verified Studio Head of PR & Marketing, Colossal Games LTD #10 3 years ago

    @Reihn - the same could be said for a 'Synth' Hero type of game that utilises a USB MIDI keyboard type-controller. How about something like performance controller which can be used for triggering samples and beats for 'Remix' Hero.

  • OldK1ngCole #11 3 years ago

    @Reihn & JaysonG

    I genuinely don't see the point in this. I recon their gonna charge atleast £100 for this. I recently invested the same money on one of these:

    [link url=http://www.ionaudio.com/icue
    ]http://www.ionaudio.com/icue
    [/link]

    It's called an ION iCUE Control Deck and comes with Numark Cue LE software that allows you to mix any audio files on your PC, basically allowing you to DJ for real with the tunes you know and love, it even takes care of beat matching if you wish.
    After about a week of using it I decided to upgrade, so gave the iCUE to my brother and brought one of these:

    [link url=http://www.numark.com/omnicontrol
    ]http://www.numark.com/omnicontrol
    [/link]

    The Numark Omni Control has much more functionallity, including a built in sound card, and comes with Traktor 3 LE software.

    Having said all this I did know how to mix before buying the product, been doing it on and off for 15 years or so, although using these products I managed to teach my flat mate and cousin to mix relatively well in about an hour, the rest is just practice.
    I never had the room for real turntables so never invested (just used friends), but these control decks are about 300mm square so easily fit on your computer desk.

    edit : links fixed
    Edited by OldK1ngCole at 21/04/09 @ 13:23

  • madgerald Verified Studio Head of PR & Marketing, Colossal Games LTD #12 3 years ago

    @OldK1ngCole - nice kit, but you don't get to unlock achievements with it or play against your mates online.

    Also, Omni Control is over £200

  • Reihn #13 3 years ago

    @OldK1ngCole

    Cool gear. Must say - being able to plug these into my laptop and DJ any music in my collection really appeals. What made you want to upgrade from the iCue to the Omni so quickly? Is the iCue not up to snuff? The price is right..

    Also, I'm not saying that -I'd- play a DJ game, I'm just pointing out that if they wanted to, there's no reason for it not to be exactly like the 'real' actions/skills of DJing. Kinda like the drumming in rock band.

  • madgerald Verified Studio Head of PR & Marketing, Colossal Games LTD #14 3 years ago

    @Reihn - I would probably have picked up the iCue if it worked on the Mac.. looks like you could have fun with it.

  • Reihn #15 3 years ago

    Aaaah, thanks. I use Macs as well.

  • OldK1ngCole #16 3 years ago

    @madgerald

    The Omni Control is alittle more expensive than the iCue yes.

    P.S. These toys are a whole lot of fun.

    @ Reihn

    The upgrade wasn't really a choice for me. Omni Control has a much larger feature set (bare in mind i've been doing this awhile) as a control deck than iCue, in that I can control "effects" etc directly from the control deck rather than with my mouse. Also the built in sound card allows me to plug the Omni Control directly into my Surround Sound system for some serious volume :) and the "faders and knobs/dials" etc are of a better quality.
    My brother still users the iCue though, and is more or less addicted. A really good bit of kit for the money.

    @ madgerald & Reihn

    Both iCue and Omni Control are Mac Compatible (my Brothers a Mac user too). iCue doesn't even require a driver install (PC or Mac), just Plug & Play. I think you have to download the Mac version of Cue LE from the Numark website though as it's not on the disc :) (just checked and it is avaliable for download).

    Final Note : You need a minimum 4.1 channel surround sound card to use the iCue properly (Front L/R Master, Rear L/R Headphones). It is possible to use 2 channel stereo and split the signel to mono (Left Master, Right Headphones) although I would not advise this. If Your thinking of investing I would seriously consider spending abit more and getting a control deck with a built in soundcard. Hercules, Behringer, Numark & M-Audio all manufacture these. Search eBay, there are normally a few going second hand.
    Edited by OldK1ngCole at 21/04/09 @ 17:57

  • madgerald Verified Studio Head of PR & Marketing, Colossal Games LTD #17 3 years ago

    OldK1ngCole - ahhhh thanks for checking that out; I did have a look see and couldn't find any reference to it being Mac compatible.

    /considers.