50 Cent talks about his new video game and his music
— -- 50 Cent is solidifying his multimedia turf.
His video game, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, comes out Feb. 24, followed by his album Before I Self Destruct in March. And he just wrapped filming for another movie, 13, due in 2010, a remake of the crime drama (with Mickey Rourke and Jason Statham) that won the 2006 Grand Jury award at the Sundance Film Festival. On location in Yonkers, N.Y., USA TODAY's Mike Snider talked with 50 Cent about video games, music and his life.
Q: How do video games fit into your career in music and films? A: Video games became more important as touring came, because there was the tour bus and you have several people there at the same time — and the option of reading a book, because you are on airplanes for a long time. So those two things became exciting at the same time. That's why I established G-Unit Books and I went into games. … In the future, (people) should look forward to me being a part of video games that I'm not actually starring in, a game as entertaining as Centipede was for me. And Pac-Man. You didn't always need eight buttons. (In the Atari days) it was a joystick and a button. I want to get back to that. Let's simplify things a little bit. (Eminem) has got all of this in his studio, the arcade stuff. He will go, 'I bet you can't beat me at Ms. Pac-Man.' He still wants to play that.
Q: You play games with your son (Marquise, 12), right? A: He's better than me. I don't know how this is happening. He just whips me repeatedly. I'd rather play (the game myself) before I even let him see it. Then, for a little while, it will be exciting because I will be beating him. We talk while we play. He says things like I would say and I'm, 'You're not supposed to say that, I'm supposed to say that.'
Q: Do you think video games have gained stature in entertainment? A: Yes, when you've got major film companies going, 'I'm not sure we should come out this week because this game is.' Even the music business feels an effect when those titles come out.
