With his new game hitting store shelves today, Kotaku caught up with rapper 50 Cent to chat about Blood on the Sandâs silly premise, music sales, and his future plans in the game industry.
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is the second game to feature the famous rapperâs name and likeness, following up on the multi-million selling 50 Cent: Bulletproof for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360. Now 50 and the G-Unit take battle off of the mean streets and into into desert, shooting, driving, and flying their way through a fictional country in order to retrieve his stolen diamond skull. An epic tale of adventure if Iâd ever heard one.
During the interview, I finally got a chance to ask 50 Cent the question thatâs been nagging me ever since Blood on the Sand was announced â why the hell did you make a game where rappers shoot up an imaginary Middle Eastern country?
âIt might be far-fetched, but thatâs me avoiding you telling me that my game is so graphic that you feel like it will make kids go do stuff that theyâre not supposed to.â 50 is actually addressing the concerns raised by his first game, 50 Cent: Bulletproof, that took place in an urban setting that many felt was too realistic. âIf I didnât do what I did conceptually when it came time to create the setting for the game, I would get all these complaints about the game being too aggressive.â
So in essence, Blood on the Sandâs rather strange story and setting are a direct response to criticisms over the last 50 Cent game. He was aiming at making a non-realistic game. Mission accomplished.
Before answering the question, however, 50 actually corrected me, telling me that the game didnât actually take place in the Middle East â it just looks like the Middle East. It could be anywhere, really. He pointed out that Blood Diamond, a movie he likes to cite as an inspiration for the game, takes place in Africa, though it certainly looks like the Middle East at times. I just assumed âfictional Middle Eastern countryâ still indicated the Middle East. 50 Cent doesnât think so.
The war setting is not only inspired by movies, but by 50 Centâs own visit to the troops in the non-fictional Iraq. âThe intensity of being a part of the war settingâŠitâs probably the most dramatic situation you can actually be in, and people consciously go into that, which is a trip to me.â
We also asked 50 is the release of games like 50 Cent: Bulletproof and now Blood on the Sand had an effect on the sales of his music.
âI do see a change in the response to the actual music. What Iâve learned is a lot of time theyâll turn the television down and play music from another source, because the quality of material thatâs on the actual game isnât up to standards right now. The opportunity to provide that intensifies the actual experiences.
This is why this is perfect to release (the game) prior to the sales of the actual album. When they actually get a chance to hear some of that material, it raises the anticipation of what my next album is going to be because this music has been held to standard.â
50 Cent is a pretty big gamer himself at this point. Heâs got a Nintendo Wii in his office, complete with Wii Fit, an Xbox 360 in his truck, and all three systems at the racquetball room in his house, where his kids play on a 24-foot projection screen.
As for whatâs next for 50 Cent in the games industry? Aside from delving into video game films with Saintâs Row, the rapper expresses great interest in creating new games that donât actually feature him as a playable character. âIâm a big fan of Tetris (as mentioned in McWhertorâs interview with the G-Unit)âŠsome of the older gamesâŠPac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Dig Dug, CentipedeâŠwhere you only had one joystick and one button. I want to be able to createâŠnot necessarily a different controller and all thatâŠjust to be able to create something different.â
https://lastchance.cc/50-cent-optioning-saints-row-rights-for-possible-movie-5159640%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Maybe 50 Cent has a better head for gaming than we first expected?
