Game company Atari publicly confirmed American rapper Soulja Boy is not its newest owner, despite his claims during a recent Instagram Live. This is not the first time Soulja Boy has popped up in conversations related to the gaming industry – the rapper, best known for his 2007 debut single “Crank That (Soulja Boy),” has made questionable attempts to produce Soulja Boy video game consoles in the past.
Soulja Boy’s entry into the console market was the release of his self-branded SouljaGame Handheld and SouljaGame Classic in 2018. In reality, his products were cheap emulators with a significant price markup at $200 each. More recently, this past February, the rapper tried to make a video game console yet again. This time, photos of the console looked to be yet another cheap-looking emulator; or, more specifically, a plastic knock-off of the Xbox Series S with a PlayStation 2 controller.
More recently, GameSpot reported that Soulja Boy is claiming to be the newest occupier of a major gaming industry position. The rapper took to Instagram Live (via YouTube channel ATC Shabe) to proclaim he is ”now the owner of Atari.” Soulja Boy claimed he would be working with the video game company in what he described to be some sort of revitalization effort, saying “I’m about to revamp the company. We’re going to take Atari to the next level.” The rapper also insisted Atari was “real proud of [him] and what [he] did with the Soulja Boy game consoles,” and that he was about to sell Soulja Boy Games for “$140 million.”
In response to his claims, Atari posted on its public Twitter that the title of CEO at Atari is currently held by Wade Rosen, appearing to deny Soulja Boy’s statements without even directly mentioning him. The post appeared on the very platform Soulja Boy often uses to publicize his game-industry-related moves. In February, Soulja Boy tried to connect with Tony Hawk on Twitter in an attempt to collaborate on a new video game idea. The rapper has also historically announced the details around his Soulja Boy Games consoles via Twitter.
It’s not exactly clear whether contracts were, in fact, exchanged between Soulja Boy and Atari. Additionally, the game company already has its hands full with recent, non-Soulja-Boy-related Atari console projects, and hasn’t commented on whether it really did attempt to form a business partnership with the rapper. In the event there is even the tiniest bit of truth in Soulja Boy’s claims and some sort of deal was struck, there appears to have been a rather large misunderstanding around the roles of the parties involved.
Sources: GameSpot, Atari/Twitter, ATC Shabe/YouTube
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