Soulja Boy, real name DeAndre Cortez Way, has come into the video game spotlight recently, as not only has he expressed an interest in moving into esports with the help of Fortnite streamer Tyler 'Ninja' Blevins, but he's also revealed his plans to launch gaming consoles like the SouljaGame and Retro SouljaBoy Mini, packed with pre-loaded games.
These products raised eyebrows since they looked to be using emulated games, and people were quick to point out that Nintendo in particular doesn't take kindly to the practice, in turn prompting Soulja Boy to vehemently defend his product in a series of tweets. He even landed himself in hot water when he used homophobic slurs against those who were criticising his consoles, as reported by Game Rant.
"Honestly, I feel that everything is 100% legit and there will be no reason for any legal ramifications or anything like that," he told Rolling Stone. "Honestly, I don't have any worries at all, any concerns, because everything we're doing is legit. It's been researched. Everything has been basically confirmed that it's a green light and we're good. It's partly the people from the outside looking in, that aren't understanding the type of deals that were made behind the scenes that are worried."
Now, however, a report from MP1st reveals that the rapper has pulled the consoles from his store SouljaWatch, saying in a tweet that "I had to boss up, I didn't have a choice."
This comes after MTO News claimed that Soulja Boy had been contacted by Nintendo and threatened with legal action over the consoles, which may have violated the Trademark Counterfeiting Act. This in turn could lead to prison time - up to 20 years, in fact.
A lot of the previous tweets attacking his critics have been deleted, but it remains to be seen what the future holds for Soulja Boy in 2019 following this blow, and whether he does indeed still intend to move into esports.