Video games give sports stars second life
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Zinedine Zidane says that many young children now knew him largely through his appearance in the EA’s game.
PHOTO: AFP
PARIS – The post-retirement careers of the biggest sports stars can be fascinating to watch – Viagra ads, property ventures, crypto projects – but one option is becoming a winner: putting your face on the cover of a video game.
And death is no barrier for this, with two popular games in 2023 choosing sports legends who are no longer with us.
Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter accident in 2020,
And two of the world’s greatest footballers from bygone eras – Pele and Johan Cruyff – get posthumous respect with their figures emblazoned on “FC 24” from EA Sports.
They are joined on the cover of the EA game by a galaxy of still-living stars of the more recent past – Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldinho – and present – Erling Haaland and Alexia Putellas.
French legend Zidane told AFP in June that many young children now knew him largely through his appearance in the EA game, formerly known as “Fifa”.
“Kids aged eight to 10 don’t know me, unless their dads have told them about what I did back in the day. It’s more through PlayStation, so it’s kind of funny. But I’m used to it,” he said.
The ties between video game publishers and sports stars go deep, particularly in the United States.
The leading video game series on American football bears the name of a former National Football League coach, John Madden, who retired in 1978 to become a sports commentator.
Julien Pillot, an economist specialising in cultural industries, said that the endorsement of bona fide legends was clearly a powerful marketing tool. He explained that gaming firms were playing on the “intergenerational aspect” and adding “a touch of nostalgia”.
And the often huge cost of getting their endorsement, he said, was “more than offset” by the sales they generate – both of the games themselves and the ubiquitous in-game “cards” required to unlock additional content.
It is a feature that executives are not shy about highlighting.
“My seven-year-old only really knows who Pele is because of his amazing rating on FC,” David Jackson, vice-president of the EA Sports FC brand, told AFP.
He said the game had allowed fans to feel a little bit of the magic of playing with stars from earlier generations.
And it works both ways, according to some of the stars involved – even those who do not rate as highly as Pele.
“People of a certain generation know me by what I’ve done on the pitch,” said Zidane’s fellow World Cup winner Robert Pires at the Paris launch party for the EA game.
However, a 12-year-old boy told him recently he had learnt who the French star was only through playing the game.
“I asked him: ‘Am I good?’” said Pires. “He told me: ‘You’re good, but you’re slow’.” AFP
