The cover of a video game is a very important aspect of its marketing, as most sports games will try to get a big-name, well revered, superstar to sell their game to the masses. Sometimes, however, there are some strange decisions when it comes to the cover star, and we have trawled through google images to bring you the very worst. Enjoy.
Kieron Dyer - This Is Football 2003
Sony took a gamble on a young speedster with potential back in 2003, but it didn't work out. More suited to the cover of a knee injury simulation game, Dyer never hit the heights expected of him and should never have been on the cover of a video game. Robbie Keane was on the Irish cover, and Michael Ballack featured in Germany, but the UK got Kieron Dyer.
Keith Van Horn - NBA Jam 99
Who? Exactly. Keith Van Horn had a decent season in the NBA once, during 98/99 he averaged around 21 points a game, but he did not deserve a video game cover. The rest of his career marred by injury as well as not trying very hard, before he fell into obscurity.
Peter Crouch - FIFA Street 3
A game based on street football and over-the-top skills, Ronaldinho? Yes. Gennaro Gattuso? Eh, maybe, he's "tough" I guess. Peter Crouch? No. Clearly only used because his cartoon-ised caricature looked bloody hilarious, it remains an odd decision.
Rob Van Dam - WWF Road To Wrestlemania X8
The worst part of this is The Undertaker and Triple H have been shunted to the back to feature the ponytailed Van Dam doing a typically terrible martial arts pose. He had a surge in popularity around the early 2000's, but never enough to be the featured athlete ahead of those two.
Peyton Hillis - Madden NFL 12
A baffling choice at the time has become even more baffling as time has gone by. Peyton Hillis had one decent which saw him selected as the poster boy of Madden, in a time before the community voted for such an honor. The Madden curse has blighted his career ever since, or rather, his averageness has blighted his career.
Pierluigi Colina - Pro Evolution Soccer 3
Ok, before we start, we absolutely love PES 3 and we absolutely love Colina, probably the best ref of all time. That said, why was Colina on the cover of a football game that he wasn't even in? Perhaps Konami couldn't put a player on it due to licensing issues, as only 6 teams were fully licensed in PES 3, but the previous two games had excellent covers with no cover star. Very strange.
