The game 50 Cent can’t live without: “I can’t get enough of it”
50 Cent might have found fame as a rapper, but he’s turned his career into much more than just hip-hop. Over the years, he’s succeeded as an actor and television producer, even finding himself at the centre of video games. In 2005, he released the third-person shooter game Bulletproof, followed by Blood on the Sand in 2009.
The Queens rapper has always been a video game fan, so being the title character in two of them must have been a dream come true. 50 once revealed that he was addicted to bowling in Wii Sports, admitting he would tell people he’s busy so he could play the lovable Nintendo Wii game.
“I go in my office and lock the door so nobody knows what I’m doing, but I play Wii bowling all day,” he told ESPN in 2008. “I’m telling everyone to hold my calls, that I’ve got a lot of work to do, but I’m really just in there bowling. That’s my guilty pleasure.”
His love of gaming doesn’t end there. 50 explained how Tetris was a game he couldn’t live without, detailing why he loves placing each block, no matter how hard it is.
“Another game I can’t get enough of is Tetris,” he said. “This is one of those games I can’t be without. The guy who created this game, he created these patterns. You see the piece, you know where the piece is supposed to go, but can you get it there fast enough? Can you find the right fit? I haven’t been able to put that game down since it first came out.”
Speaking on games in general, he said, “Video games to me are like a virtual action film experience. To create that environment and intensity that you would see in a good war game or in a motion picture, that’s the key. It’s the reason movies like Black Hawk Down and Platoon were hits. It’s more intense when you can put yourself there without putting yourself in danger.”
In addition to his love of single-player games, 50 is also into multiplayer games. He discussed how Madden and NBA Live were essential when touring with his G-Unit crew.
“Madden is mandatory,” he said. “If you don’t know how to play Madden, when you walk on our bus, everyone will start to talk about you. Madden and NBA Live, those are mandatory. What’s cool about Madden is you don’t need to be in shape to play. There’s no way you can run with these guys, but in the game, you can learn it.
“To me, though, I have this competitive thing about me where I have to be the best. That’s why I’m practising my new game so much before it comes out. Then, when it hits, I can run around, ‘Bam-bam-bam.’ I’ll be dominating the game, and when I watch people who first pick it up, I’ll be like, ‘You’ve got nothing.’ They need to have some special codes in the game that they only tell me.”