Fans of "Crank That" rapper Soulja Boy know that the artist is a keen gamer. Most recently, Soulja Boy revealed that developer Epic Games had plans to add the "Crank That" dance to Fortnite. However, few expected his latest video game-related announcement.
In a tweet posted earlier today, Soulja Boy informed his fans that the "SouljaGame Handheld" had gone on sale on his tech merchandise website, souljawatch.com. The device features a 3-inch screen, more than 3,000 games pre-loaded, and it includes "support connerting [sic] to TV." The typo, it should be noted, is a direct quote from the product screenshots available on souljawatch.com.
While there have been plenty of other gaming endorsements in the past, with games like Kim Kardashian: Hollywood bearing a celebrity's likeness, there have been less actual celebrity gaming peripherals. As such, many were surprised (and some were even confused) by the rapper's announcement.
By doing some extremely light investigation work, prospective SouljaGame players discovered that the console that Soulja Boy is selling on his website for $99.99 (down from $199.99), is currently being sold for just $59.99 on Amazon. It is cheaper still when purchased from AliExpress, costing between $32.30 and $35.50 a piece. This, along with the fact that Soulja Boy's website is running on Shopify, is a dead giveaway that the rapper is just "dropshipping" these items. In other words, he's just selling items that someone else has manufactured and making money by selling them with a massive markup.
Unsurprisingly, the replies to Soula Boy's tweet has been flooded with fans making fun of him over the dropshipping/markup discovery. Some choice quotes include "issa L" (the "L" stands for loss) and "he's doing the Bowwow challenge", which means that Soulja Boy is flaunting wealth and clout that he doesn't have.
Though, as some have noted, Soulja Boy could still end up selling a few of his SouljaGame Handhelds to a few clueless fans. After all, the Nintendo Switch is selling like hotcakes, but Nintendo's portable home console isn't the most affordable system, especially when it comes to buying games. So, just to save money, some may well pick up this dropshipped gadget.