Def Jam artists like Ludacris, Method Man and Redman who were previously involved in the top-selling Electronic Arts Def Jam console videogames will have a third shot at exposure via the March release of “Def Jam Fight for NY: The Takeover” for the Sony PlayStation Portable. The game is the prequel to the award-winning “Def Jam Vendetta.”
The project is a joint venture of Electronic Arts and Def Jam Enterprises, LLC, a media and marketing affiliate of Rush Communications.
Playing as the aforementioned artists as well as Busta Rhymes, Carmen Electra, Lil’ Kim, Snoop Dogg and Xzibit, PSP gamers will be able to unravel the events that lead to “Vendetta” and find out how the D-Mob got to rule NYC.
The game boasts new fighting moves and venues, and for the first time, players can battle in one-on-one death matches using PSP’s wireless functionality. Fighters can also be decked out in gear from Def Jam University, Phat Farm, Brand Jordan, Ecko Unlimited, Enyce, Rocawear, Sean John, State Property and Reebok.
The PSP version features more than three dozen tracks from the Def Jam artists’ 2003 and 2004 album releases. According to EA, there’s a good possibility they will be available for download.
According to NPD, which tracks sales at retail, “Def Jam Vendetta” has sold more than 900,000 copies, and was one of the top 10 PlayStation best-sellers in 2003. “Def Jam Vendetta II” has topped 1 million units since its September 2004 release.
Both previous games brought reciprocal benefits for those Def Jam game artists who had new albums released after the titles debuted. “We saw a definite spike in game sales in the post-release periods for each Def Jam artist album,” EA marketing VP Jeff Karp told Billboard in 2004.
“Def Jam Interactive’s first PSP title has proven to be an exciting and entertaining product,” Def Jam Enterprises marketing VP Lauren Wirtzer tells Billboard.com. “Again, EA has developed an unparalleled title and we are confident that it will go far beyond everyone’s expectations.”
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