RIP Soulja Boy’s video game hardware ambitions (2018-2018). Right at the end of 2018, presumably in response to articles such as this one questioning the legality of these emulator boxes, the SouljaGame Console and SouljaGame Handheld were both pulled from sale. However, while the rapper apparently “didn’t have a choice” as far as these devices were concerned, don’t worry, there’s still an esports team coming for that hot Soulja Boy/gaming crossover goodness. Keep reading to learn what the SouljaGame systems could’ve been.

Most people remember Soulja Boy for “Crank That,” the rap song that had everyone talking about Superman for very different reasons in 2007. But as a video game enthusiast, I’ll always appreciate the artist for his accidental and absolutely scathing review of Braid, the 2008 indie darling that was great despite the pretensions of creator Jonathan Blow rather than because of him.

To Soulja Boy, Braid wasn’t some deep meditation on love or nuclear weapons or whatever. It was a pointless thing to play when you smoked or drank, a game about Mario in the future in a business suit and “sucking his bitch ass up” with a time-rewinding potion that never runs out. That’s beautiful criticism, and seeing how it still haunts Blow is the highlight of Indie Game: The Movie.

It’s been a long time since Soulja Boy’s Braid review but now he’s back entertaining me with video games in a whole new way. If you want, you can now buy bootleg Soulja Boy video game consoles.

Soulja Boy’s entry into the hardware market is two-pronged: the $99 SouljaGame Handheld and $149 SouljaGame Console. And like your favorite N64-esque controller you found in the mall, both machines are chock full of hundreds of classic games that absolutely are legally allowed to be there. Which classics games? Don’t ask so many questions. Just admire the vague associations with random AAA screenshots featuring “4K” plastered all over them.

On an aesthetic level, the SouljaGame Handheld disappoints with its boring basic white and lack of analog sticks stopping it from fully competing with the Nintendo Switch or even the Vita. The SouljaGame Console is at least pretty stylish, resembling a white Xbox One S. But that isn’t the only console these remind us of…

Soulja Boy’s “new” video game systems are in fact inexplicably more expensive reskins of retro game consoles from manufacturer Anbernic, a $60 handheld and $80 console. The Linux specs and expandable storage are the same, as are the claims of “3,000 pre-installed games.” The games are emulated ROMs, in case you thought Nintendo put Pokemon on these things for free out of the goodness of their heart.

We’ve got nothing against retro emulation hardware (as long as you obey the law). In fact, we encourage you to mess around and try to build some yourself. The scene really took off after the success of the NES Mini. We just think it’s hilarious that Soulja Boy is trying to pass this off as a totally new, pricier innovation. Here’s hoping SouljaGame emulation is better than the PlayStation Classic.

Further Reading

Game Reviews