Nick Fernandez / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Rapper Soulja Boy is selling a new gaming handheld called the SouljaGame Flip.
- The system appears to be just a Retroid Pocket Flip 2 with the artist’s brand on top of it.
- Retroid has responded by stating, “He does not have permission to rebrand our products and sell them as his own.”
The rapper known as Soulja Boy is back in the news today. No, the artist best known for “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” didn’t release a new song. Rather, it appears he’s trying his hand at selling gaming hardware once again. And the system he’s selling appears to be a clone of an emulation device from a well-known retro handheld gaming brand.
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In an Instagram post, Soulja Boy can be seen hawking a device he calls the SouljaGame Flip. The rapper goes on to direct the audience to his website to pick one up. Before ending the video, the artist adds that “it has Sonic, TikTok, Instagram, and everything ya need.”
Over on Soulja Boy’s website, we can see images of the device in question. From these images, it appears that the SouljaGame Flip is just a Retroid Pocket Flip 2 with a marked-up price and the SouljaGame brand slapped on top of it. In fact, it looks like the images may have been pulled from Retroid’s website.
Old priceNew price
When it was first spotted by Retro Dodo, the handheld was being sold for almost double the price of the Pocket Flip 2 for $436.50. For comparison, Retroid lists the Pocket Flip 2 at $209 on its website. However, it appears that Soulja Boy has recently cut the price down to $200.
In a statement sent to the outlet, the Retroid team had this to say about the situation:
I didn’t know about this. This is not any kind of official licensing deal. He does not have permission to rebrand our products and sell them as his own. The Retroid Pocket Flip 2 is patented in the U.S by ourselves.
One commenter on Soulja Boy’s Instagram post asks, “How long till he get sued (again)?” Another commenter said, “I still haven’t gotten my Soulja boy console from 2018,” which is in reference to the last time the artist tried selling Chinese-made retro emulation devices. Meanwhile, a third commenter typed, “Not a single gamer buying this. Especially at that price. Play some games on it. Where’s the gameplay? Is it an emulator??? Rather get a Steamdeck for less that does more.”
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