50 Cent Proud Of 'Intense' New Video Game, Says Eminem Cheats At 'Pac-Man'
NEW YORK -- This week, [artist id="860639"]50 Cent[/artist]'s big game is a gun-filled adventure in the desert. Next time? It could be a special [artist id="1237480"]G-Unit[/artist] version of "Tetris."
The hip-hop icon talked to MTV News in the G-Unit offices near Madison Square Garden about "50 Cent: Blood on the Sand," out today on Xbox 360 and PS3.
You may think of 50 Cent first as a rapper, but the man's life is now filled with video games, including titles of his own. First there was [news id="1586339"]"50 Cent Bulletproof,"[/news] then a PSP spin-off and now "Blood on the Sand." The latest takes 50 to a Middle Eastern-looking city to chase down a crystal skull that's been stolen from him and his crew. The new game has 18 unreleased 50 tracks, plus hits from several G-Unit and 50 albums and a score from [artist id="1161216"]Swizz Beatz[/artist].
"The game is an intense experience," 50 said. It was developed by the British studio Swordfish, but it's 50 who came up with the skull bit. "The crystal skull actually exists," he said. "It's a diamond, an artifact. I saw it in a magazine in Dubai. I took it and said, 'Make this what they're after.' "
Video games are everywhere for 50. He's got video games on the tour bus, an Xbox 360 in the front and a PS3 in the back. He doesn't play them as much as the rest of the G-Unit. They're giving the PS3 more time than the 360 lately because they just got it. They're playing lots of sports games.
He's got the games he battles Eminem in. "We have different versions of Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and regular Pac-Man in Detroit, in the studio where me and Em record at," 50 said. "We sit there and we pride ourselves on who actually has the higher score on those games."
[artist id="502642"]Eminem[/artist] has the advantage on 50 right now. "He cheats because he's developed the patterns and sh-- ... After a while you get enough time playing it and you develop these strategies and patterns in the actual game and it's kind of like cheating. I don't get as much time to play in the arcade game."
50's got a lot of video games he wants to make after "Blood on the Sand." You might be surprised at what he's thinking about: "I'd like to be a part of developing, marketing and promoting a game I'm not actually in," he said. "It could be like Tetris. It's one of my favorite games."
He's even got games in his beefs. His video for [news id="1605070"]"I'll Be the Shooter" amps up his beef with Rick Ross[/news] thanks in part to the inclusion of virtual firefights from "Blood on the Sand." Gaming as part of rap-battling? It broadens the means of expression, he said.
"So it's not misinterpreted that hip-hop is a negative art-form, I'll take it to somewhere where they can see a sense of humor and where it's productive at the same time."
However, that doesn't mean that 50's going to keep tying his games into his beefs. "I'm not sure, and if I tell you now, they'll be waiting for it. My whole thing is being unpredictable when it comes to each altercation or situation."
And let's not leave this out: He's got the video game he wants to turn into a movie. "I am actually optioning the rights to 'Saints Row' to do a movie about that game," 50 said, referring to the "Grand Theft Auto"-like series from "Blood on the Sand" publisher THQ.
Oh, and 50's got a Wii -- we'll have more on that tomorrow on our MTV Multiplayer blog. But today, the game 50 most cares about is "50 Cent: Blood on the Sand," out on the Xbox 360 and PS3, rated M and the latest release in one of hip-hop's most powerful brands.
For more on "Blood on the Sand" and other video games, check out our gaming blog, Multiplayer.