Rapper Ice-T has offered the reasons why he thinks that the fighting game series Def Jam isn’t on modern platforms.
Ice-T posted on X (formerly Twitter), saying that “so many people ask me why this game hasn’t been brought back for the newer consoles” and that he thinks the reason the console hasn’t been released on more modern platforms is that developer EA would have to “pay for voice and music rights again”.
The rapper continued in another post, writing that he doesn’t think that “they [EA] paid any of us anything to be in that original game. I know I didn’t get any type of substantial money. It was a situation where you didn’t want to be left out of the game.”
So many people ask me why this game hasn’t been brought back for the newer consoles. Maybe because they’d have to pay for voice and music rights again. Maybe? 💥 https://t.co/A8LiBgYP3b
— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) January 7, 2024
He concluded by saying that “Yesterday’s price is not today’s price”, implying that if a remaster or a remake was made then EA would have to pay a substantial amount of money to get the rights to both his likeness and his voice.
The first Def Jam game was released in 2003 and was titled Def Jam Vendetta. Since then, three other games have launched in the series – Def Jam: Fight for NY, Def Jam Fight For NY: The Takeover, and Def Jam: Icon. A new fighting game in the series hasn’t been released since 2007, with the last game to use the Def Jam title being Def Jam Rapstar in 2010.
Each game in the series features real-life hip-hop artists who were signed to the Def Jam Recordings record label at the time. These included rappers such as Ludacris, Sean Paul, DMX, Prodigy, and Ice-T.
In other gaming news, Valorant has received its first new weapon since its launch. Elsewhere in the industry, Silent Hill 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3 remakes are both due for release in 2024 according to PlayStation.