TRDR Pocket
Image: TRDR Pocket

Soulja Boy has shifted a fair few records in his time, but he's seemingly obsessed with cracking another market: video games. If you recall, back in 2018 he attempted to sell rebranded Chinese games consoles running unlicensed ROMs before trying his hand at releasing a Game Boy clone. Following apparent legal action from Nintendo, Soulja Boy was forced to remove the listings from the web, admitting that he "...had to boss up, I didn’t have a choice."

It would seem that you can't keep a good rapper down, however. Earlier this year, Soulja Boy was at it again, teasing yet another game console, one which looked a lot like an Xbox Series S. Soulja Boy was clearly bullish about the project, saying. "Building a new console from scratch, all new design. All new games. All new deals. Let’s make history." However, it would seem that he's already moved onto his next venture, which is another handheld. And guess what? He's basically just added his endorsement to a cheap handheld console which is based on older hardware.

According to Retro Dodo, the TRDR Pocket currently being hawked by Soulja Boy is actually based on the Retroid Pocket, which in turn was cloned as the Powkiddy A19. It's focused on emulation (like the other systems which Soulja Boy has promoted) but runs Android, so you can, in theory, install Android apps like Netflix on it – something the Nintendo Switch can't currently do. It's being positioned as a handheld which also allows you to indulge in social media apps as well as enjoy your games. It's even got Call of Duty (the smartphone version, anyway), which you can see in the video above.

The catch? This product (or one very similar to it) can usually be picked up for under $100, but the TRDR Pocket is being sold for twice that amount. Retro Dodo got in touch with Go Games, the Spanish company behind the TRDR Pocket, and it admitted it wasn't aware of Soulja Boy's rather patchy history with gaming hardware. However, as of yesterday, the rapper is still promoting the device on his social media accounts.

As you might expect, many within the gaming community have responded negatively to this device, but that doesn't seem to have dissuaded Soulja Boy, who is already teasing a successor. If this doesn't end up being a PS Vita-style knock-off from China which is already available under a different name (and for less cash), we'll consume a vast quantity of hats.

[source retrododo.com]