Video games give sports stars second life

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 sure-fire winner: put your face on the cover of a video game.

And death is no barrier for this particular career, with two popular games this year choosing sports legends who are no longer with us.

LA Lakers basketball star Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter accident in 2020, graces the cover of "NBA 2K24".

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's 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," said the World Cup winner.

"It's more through PlayStation, so it's kind of funny. I'm used to it."

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 player, John Madden, who retired in 1978 to become a sports commentator.

Julien Pillot, an economist specialising in cultural industries, told AFP the endorsement of bona fide legends was clearly a powerful marketing tool.

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