Ice-T has revealed his theory as to why the Def Jam Vendetta video game has never been rebooted.
In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday (January 7), the rapper and actor, who featured as a playable character in the game’s sequel Def Jam: Fight For NY, discussed why a new version of the game has not been brought to market.
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He wrote: “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?”
Responding to fans calling for a remake, the Body Count legend said: “Here’s the BIG problem.. I don’t think they paid ANY of us ANYTHING to be in that original game… I know I didn’t get any type of substantial money. It’s was a situation where you didn’t want to be left OUT of the game. Well….. Yesterday’s price is not Today’s price..!”
Ice-T also reminded fans that he has appeared in other video games and was paid for his work: “Yes sir! ‘Mad Dog’ the Boss. GTA paid me though… lol So did Gears of War.. ‘Griffen.’”
Kevin Liles has previously teased reviving the series, which was a beat ’em up game in the vein of Street Fighter but saw rappers battle each other with their fists.
Liles, who is the former president of Def Jam, said on social media in 2021: “#itsinthename Thinking I should bring back the series. How many of y’all would like to see this happen #DefJamEnterprises let me know.”
In August 2020, Def Jam themselves hinted at a possible return to video games with a tweet saying the public wants another fighting game from them.
They said if their X (then Twitter) page hits one million followers, they would announce something special for the fans. Unfortunately, no announcement was made regarding a video game once they hit that mark.
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Def Jam Vendetta was originally released in 2003 and allowed fans to play as some of their favorite rappers including Ghostface Killah, DMX, Method Man, Ludacris and Joe Budden.
Two sequels followed with expanded rosters that also included Snoop Dogg, The Game, Jeezy and Big Boi, among others.
