Top 10 Athlete Licensed Video Games

What better way to sell games than to plaster your face all over the cover? Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the top 10 Athlete-Licensed Video Games.

It’s pretty straightforward for this, we are looking at the games with endorsement from a specific sports-person that were great in their own right without having to rely on the famous face to make money or shift copies.

The Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the legendary red-haired snowboarder’s extreme sports title received mixed reviews but the Wii edition was widely loved. To compensate for the graphical capabilities of Nintendo’s console a cartoon-like style was used and it looked far better than it’s realistic counterparts on other consoles. The Wii Balance Board controls are a little tricky to master but once cracked, make for an interactive experience few other winter sports games can match. To top it off, the supremely cool soundtrack draws from various decades to perfectly compliment every trick and flip. It’s then no wonder that the game’s sequel “World Stage” was a Wii exclusive.

This hockey game from “The Great One” began life in the arcades but was soon ported to the Nintendo 64. Believe it or not, It was the first title to make use of the system’s 4 player capability, so you and three friends could fly around the ice smashing each other in an arcade mode that offered flaming pucks and a variety of other wacky power-ups. For more traditional hockey fans there is a sim mode that stays truer to real hockey with properly applied rules and thorough statistical data. Whatever you’re after, you get a game worthy of the Gretzky name.

Creating a cricket title that was appealing to those who don’t follow the sport while remaining true to the game’s complicated and long-winded nature was never going to be an easy task. This franchise, endorsed by the batsman with the highest score ever in cricket, somehow managed to combine fast gameplay and intuitive controls, with enough service for traditionalists, to form the basis for a hugely popular set of games. The first two 3D entries in the series are possibly the best cricket games ever, providing ample variety for those who fancy a 5-day test match or those who just want a 20-over slog.

This rally title was one of the first to nail a realistic simulation of the sport and that was largely thanks to the technical input from the late McRae. The game is just as demanding as the sport itself but once you get to grips with your vehicle and the huge variety of tracks, you get a sense of satisfaction that must come close to the real thing. Every car is meticulously recreated inside and out to give you an authentic experience that will absorb you race after race.

Nintendo clearly saw the potential of Bryant early, using his image to front this basketball sim that was the best the N64 had to offer at the time. Every player is fully licensed and has their face mapped onto their blocky in-game counterpart for a sense of realism that is complimented by the tight gameplay and large selection of flair plays. A couple of glitches do stop it from ranking any higher but it is still an insanely addictive title, especially when your custom player is dunking all over Shaquille.

The late 90s and early 00s were swamped with extreme sport titles and it took this exceptional BMX game to compete with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series. It is essentially ‘Tony Hawk on a bike’ but includes enough unique features to distinguish it from it’s skateboarding cousin. It has addictive gameplay that will keep you obsessing on a challenge for hours on end but is also accessible for casual players. With a huge selection of modes and riders at your disposal you will never tire of this surprisingly nuanced title.

The record-breaking Woods had his name attached to the golf-sim series from 1998 but this entry is by far the most memorable. Across all platforms incremental improvements like dynamic weather systems and a mode for recreating famous shots were implemented but the Wii version was given the most dramatic developments. The extra capabilities of the Wii MotionPlus allowed for a swing that is scarily similar to the real thing, while new game modes like disc golf, where players throw a Frisbee across the golf course as opposed to golf balls. When sports games are this realistic, why do we ever need to go outside again?

Tyson had not even won a world title before his likeness was used to sell this fighting game for the NES but it turned out to be an incredibly wise decision. Over two million players took Little Mac from the bottom to a championship bout against Tyson himself after beating brilliantly named boxers like Don Flamenco and Soda Popinski. It doesn’t worry too much about realism, instead focusing on fun, challenging fighting that make it one of the most adored games for the console. Rather amusingly however, the real-life Tyson only had his first go on the game a full 26 years after it’s release.

The influence of this series of American Football games cannot be underestimated: professional players, kids, parents and coaches all play and love the game that is one of the best tools to learn the complexities of the sport. Millions around the world have grown up alongside the franchise, following it year by year from it’s 2D beginnings, eagerly waiting to see what new features have been added. One constant throughout all these games, up until 2009, is John Madden’s trademark commentary that is synonymous with the NFL and the ideal audio partner for the intense action of nearly every Madden title.

Before we reveal our top pick, let’s take a look at some honorable mentions.

“Ken Griffey, Jr. Presents Major League Baseball” (1994)
“Jimmie Johnson’s Anything with an Engine” (2011)
“Barkley Shut Up and Jam!” (1993)

… And here’s one Dishonorable Mention

“Shaq Fu” (1994)

Not only is this one of the best sports games ever; it is also arguably one of the best video games ever made. Somehow it improved upon the near perfection of the first game by introducing character creation and the manual trick, additions that would be staples for similarly successful entries in the series like the Tony Hawk’s Underground. Hawk is a true innovator in real life and so only a revolutionary game would do for this icon of extreme sports. The trick-based adventure gameplay inspired numerous other pretenders but none could ever reach the heights of this exceptional title.

Do you agree with our list? What games did you run out and buy just because your favorite sports-person was on the front? For more sporting top 10s be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.