Marc Ecko...video game mogul?

Taking a page from Def Jam/Phat Farm founder Russell Simmons' book, Marc Ecko is diversifying--into video games. In a joint statement with Atari this morning, the hip-hop fashion mogul announced he is "joining forces" with Atari to develop Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, the "first truly authentic video game based on urban culture and graffiti art."

While this might strike some people as "crazy," the announcement echoes publishers' growing interest in hip-hop themed games. Activision's rap-scored True Crime: Streets of L.A. and Tony Hawk's Underground remain best-sellers months after their release. Electronic Arts just announced Def Jam Fight for NY, the follow-up to its rapper-wrestler crossover, Def Jam Vendetta, and The Urbz, a "street" version of the Sims.

Atari CEO Bruno Bonnell seems eager to get in on the urban genre and leverage a brand as iconic as Ecko's. "Marc's vision of Getting Up fuses his expert knowledge of youth culture, his talent as a graphic artist, and his passion for gaming. It's nothing less than extraordinary and Atari is thrilled to be a part of it."

Ecko also dispensed mad props to the game that bears his name, which he claims to have been working on for seven years. "This game will be genre-defining. Revolutionary," said Ecko. "We will put the flag in the ground of popular culture with Getting Up."

However, while long on talk, Ecko and Atari's announcement was short on details. Besides saying the game will be developed by The Collective, the studio behind Wrath Unleashed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the only other release information the designer/publisher entente provided was Getting Up's ship date--June 2005--and the fact that the game will be on display at E3.

GameSpot will have more details on Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure as they become available.