I had a pretty good time playing DJ Hero when it came out. Though I have to admit, I haven't touched it in months. Perhaps one day I'll find some time to get back into it in the coming months, but with all the big time releases coming out, I doubt I'll have time until like, June. In the meantime, I've got some work to do. It seems that Activision has inadvertently confirmed a sequel to their latest musical video game franchise by announcing a contest for one lucky person to have their song included in a future installment of DJ Hero.

While it's been a pretty strong rumor that there would be a follow-up to one of the more critically acclaimed music games of 2009, this confirmation does actually come as a bit of a surprise. DJ Hero didn't exactly burn up the sales charts, even though it was a highly entertaining game. It probably didn't help that the peripheral-based game wasn't priced to move. Even though the controller is a bit more complicated than the Guitar Hero guitar, when the first game arrived on shelves it was cheaper than $100 ($70 if memory serves). That may not seem like a lot of money, but the human brain is conditioned to think that things that cost less than $100 are cheap, and things that cost $100 or more are expensive. At least, in my limited knowledge of psychopharmacology, that's what I think. Of course, I may be wrong, and you may be right, but I just might be the lunatic you're looking for. What were we talking about?

If you're interested in entering the competition, check out the full press release below.

Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) today announced DJ Hero™’s involvement with MIDEM 2010, as part of Guitar Hero®’s ongoing enthusiasm and commitment to support new music. Having supported various elements of the show in previous years, in 2010 DJ Hero will be hosting an exclusive Listening Session, providing one lucky undiscovered musician the priceless opportunity to have their winning song mixed, mastered and featured in a future installment of DJ Hero.

On Wednesday, 27th January at 14:30, at Auditorium K (level 4), Palais des Festivals in Cannes, the Listening Session will judge ten finalists, whose tracks will vary in genre from electronica to hip-hop; rock to pop, and determine whose track would make great gameplay in a DJ set. The winner, who will be chosen by the expert panel, will walk away with the ultimate prize and have their song played by DJ Hero fans all over the world.

MIDEM 2010, which runs from the 24th to 27th of January, is seen by music professionals from across the globe as a place to discover up-and-coming music superstars and meet with the music community at large. In previous years Welsh band ATTACK! ATTACK! UK and The Answer, were discovered at a similar Listening Sessions for Guitar Hero, and saw their tracks appear in the Guitar Hero® 5 and Guitar Hero® World Tour’s set lists respectively.

Open to all MIDEM 2010 participants, artists are invited to submit one track digitally to be in with a chance to take part in the session, via the following website before 19th January 2010:
www.sonicbids.com/midemactivisiondjhero

Latecomers can also submit their track on site (CD format) in the DJ Hero Drop Box (Level 0 next to the elevator, entrance of the Speaker Club & Lounge). The top ten tracks will then be picked by the following jury:

o Tim Riley, VP, Music Affairs, Activision/Blizzard
o Brandon Young, Director, Music Affairs, Activision/Blizzard
o Sergio Pimentel, International Music & Licensing Manager, Activision/Blizzard
o Ofei Sakyi, Senior Music Producer, Freestyle
o Music Industry Professional (TBC)