Soulja Boy Is Building His Esports Franchise Right Now
*By Zane Bhansali*
Rapper and entrepreneur DeAndre "Soulja Boy" Cortez Way has a new venture: gaming.
Soulja Boy announced in December that he was planning to start an esports franchise, citing the wildly popular streamer Tyler "Ninja" Blevins as a possible collaborator.
In December, Soulja Boy even said he might sign Ninja to his organization ー but he's since revised his stance.
Although Soulja Boy commented that Ninja is a "great friend," he said that he is envisioning a different type of player for his team.
"We're looking for the up-and-coming, 16 or 17-year old ー hungry, with a goal, with a passion, with a dream," Soulja Boy said. "That's who I want to join my esports franchise."
Way listed Overwatch, Gears of War, and Super Smash Bros. as potential games he wants to explore for his team and added that he plans to compete at the highest level in due time.
"We're going to get our feet wet, we'll get to that point," he said. "We definitely want to build it from the ground up ... and be able to compete with those bigger teams. We just have to work our way up the ranks."
Soulja Boy said he's currently developing a video game that he described as "Grand Theft Auto mixed with Fortnite mixed with Halo," adding, "you gotta take the best of each world and put it all in one game."
Soulja Boy recently released a series of game consoles amid serious controversy. The first two, the "SouljaGame Console" and "Soulja Game Handheld," were marketed as being capable of playing "Switch/3DS/Vita/NEOGEO/GBC/Gameboy/GBA" games and having hundreds of games already loaded ー raising questions of their legality.
Soulja Boy's systems were retailed through his online store for the relatively cheap prices of $149 and $99, respectively. However, commenters were quick to point out that the items in question were in fact rebranded systems from developer Anbernic that were available through Chinese online retailer AliExpress for significantly lower prices. What's more, both consoles were simply emulators capable of playing games from first-party publishers.
As of publication, Way has stopped selling both consoles, and his former website, souljagame.com, now redirects to the page for Nintendo's handheld 3DS console.
Way has since revealed another version of the SouljaGame Handheld. However, it seems to be yet another rebranded emulator, this with an eerily similarity to Sony's Playstation Vita. Nevertheless, Way is optimistic about his future in the console market.
"I have a passion for this," he told Cheddar Sports. "This is not about the money for me. I really want to create a video game console. I really want to create a character in the image that could be compared to Sonic \[the Hedgehog\] as Sonic is for Sega and Mario is for Nintendo. We could have a little Soulja for the SouljaGame."
LeBron James will serve his first-ever NBA suspension tonight against the New York Knicks after getting into an on-court squabble with Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart. Stewart will also serve a two-game suspension for escalating the fight.
Jill and Carlo are a bit delayed today on account of Carlo's internet not working. Better late than never, they discuss what we know about the suspect in the Christmas parade crash, closing arguments in the Arbery killing trial, and more.
Special Olympics and WWE are announcing a three-year partnership extension of their global partnership to help create inclusion through sports. Mary Davis, CEO of Special Olympics and WWE superstar and Special Olympics Global Ambassador, Drew McIntyre join Cheddar News to talk about the announcement.
NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice and his daughter/business partner Jaqui Rice Gold joined Cheddar's "Between Bells" to talk about their energy drink G.O.A.T. Fuel. The pair talked about launching the brand during the height of the pandemic and what makes it different from competing brands. "The thing that separates us from the other energy drinks is we have cordyceps mushrooms in the drink," he said. "You're not going to have the jitters or anything like that." The duo also discussed the Los Angeles Lakers making it the official energy drink of its organization and what that means for the growth of the brand.
Jill and Carlo cover the developing story out of suburban Milwaukee, where a speeding SUV careened through a Christmas parade. Looters get more brazen in San Francisco, the missing Chinese tennis star resurfaces, and more.
Alternative asset, sports cards-focused platform Alt recently raised $75 million in a Series B round. Alt's platform lets users research, trade, and securely store sports cards and other high-value assets. Right now, the company has more than $70 million worth of cards in its vault. The company is also hoping to get into other assets, including NFTs. Alt CEO Leore Avidar joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Ameeth Sankaran, CEO of the emmy-winning media company Religion of Sports, joined Cheddar to talk about the "Man in the Arena: Tom Brady" docuseries that premiered on ESPN+ earlier this week. Sankaran noted Brady and former NFL star Michael Strahan as co-founders and discussed the origin of the company and its goal to tell stories about sports figures beyond their roles on the court or field.
A former live-in-chef for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown has claimed the NFL star lied about his COVID vaccination status and obtained a fake proof of vaccination card. Brown and the Bucs have since come out denying the claims.
Jill and Carlo are back to cover the latest in the Rittenhouse trial, new information on the origins of Covid, return-to-office and more.
JOIN US FOR THE YOUTUBE WATCH PARTY @ 9aET: http://www.youtube.com/cheddarnow
Ben Stinar, NBA reporter for Fastbreak on FanNation, joins Cheddar Bets to provide some one-month-in overreactions and underreactions to some of the NBA betting lines.
Sponsored by BetMGM
