Back in the '80s and early '90s, video game box art was a very different beast to that which we know today. CGI renders were the stuff of a madman's dreams, and crude, hand-drawn covers were commonplace.
When you consider how many console and arcade titles were released on a yearly basis, it's perhaps forgivable that the illustrators responsible for the art that would grace the covers of these releases were really up against it - and therefore started copying poses from the popular action movies of the period.
Hardcore Gaming 101 has a stunning gallery of this mimicry, most of which is focused on the one and only Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger – famous film star and former Governor of California. Konami appears to have had quite a thing for the ex-Mr. Olympia, having used him more than once for its Contra series.
Don't believe us? Check out the examples below.
But hey! Arnie wasn't the only '80s action star this kind of thing happened to, although he may have been the most copied. Fellow '80s icon Sylvester Stallone is a close second when it comes to having his persona ripped off by video game companies, as you can see from the examples below.
Do you have any memorable covers from this period which are clearly based on real-world stars? Let us know with a comment.