/vr/ - Retro Games

>>9973837
You got a few similar instances in the 80s, but the 90s were when both gaming and celebrity culture got huge, so having a recognisable star attached to your game could make it stand out a little from the dozens of other titles on the market and seem less generic.
Post-90s is when big brands like FIFA, 2K, etc. dominated, and smaller games with a title star weren't as big a draw, so the practice started dropping off unless it was an established franchise.
This also coincided with athletes retiring (Brian Lara) or dying (Colin McRae)

>>7417901
It was more this.
Limp wrists and frantic waggling in kids bedrooms a plenty.

>>4683668
I said "that I remember", as in my personal experience discovering games when I was a kid. Like I know there's ones that predate it by far just by nature of sports games with licensed atheletes.

Like the real answer for "first game with a black player character" is most likely Daley Thompson's Decathlon. Or at least that's the first major title since it was such a massive seller in the U.K., put Ocean on the map, etc.