Many celebrities have been very vocal about their love for video games, and while an abundance enjoy sitting on the couch playing the games themselves, plenty more have gotten involved by making those games even better.
Here are 10 examples of celebrities getting involved with video games and making them even better than they would have been otherwise:
1. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Kevin Spacey
As Kevin Spacey was gaining traction for his role as Francis Underwood in House of Cards, the Call of Duty marketing team took advantage of his fame and placed his image and voice in their commercials for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
The extra attention he was receiving for his villainous, yet strangely likable, character on the Netflix original series, Activision made a fantastic marketing choice by casting him as the antagonist.
2. EA Sports UFC
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee is a household name, and legend and is often associated with his fighting skills. EA Sports took advantage of this and decided to make Bruce Lee an unlockable character in their adaptation of the UFC game.
Players had to beat the game on the Pro difficulty or higher to be able to use the martial arts master.
3. The Sims: House Party
Drew Carey
The Sims: House Party was a take on the fan favorite Sims franchise centering around throwing the best house party possible. Bringing your favorite Project X fantasies to life, successfully completing a raging house party would result in none other than Drew Carey showing up to your in-game doorstep.
Carey would show up in his limo after your party lasted at least 135 minutes and held a score of 55 or higher.
4. World of Warcraft
Mr.T, William Shatner, Verne Troyer, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Willy Toledo, Chuck Norris, Ozzy Osbourne, etc.
A few years ago, Blizzard Entertainment created a series of TV commercials featuring a number of celebrities. On top of these commercials, Blizzard has been known to place many easter eggs and cameos in all of their games, including Diablo and Starcraft.
These commercials, however, paved the way for others to see World of Warcraft in a new, cool light. Some of these celebrities, such as Chuck Norris, were and are looked up to. World of Warcraft changed the way the public eye saw their game.
5. Beyond: Two Souls
Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe
At the Tribeca Film Festival in 2013, Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe made their video game debut as Jodie Holmes and Nathan Dawkins in Beyond: Two Souls.
Not only did they voice act their characters, but they also had their likeness captured within the game. So it garnered the attention of both video game and film fans, drawing much more attention to the game and opening many doors for others to follow suit.
6. Call of Duty: Ghosts
Snoop Dogg
In the Call of Duty: Ghosts release, Snoop Dogg was recruited to provide some DLC voiceover work. Players could download his voice pack for a different take on the traditionally serious commentary in many first person shooters.
Snoop Dogg’s DLC made the game that much funnier and edgy to play as the Call of Duty: Ghosts announcer, ya dig?
7. Chronicles of Riddick
Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel annihilates all stereotypes by proving that anyone, in any shape or size, can be an inherent gamer. His love of gaming ran so deep that he founded his own game development company called Tigon Studio.
Tigon Studios was responsible for the creation of the Chronicles of Riddick series, which was well-received and wouldn’t have been possible without the involvement of Vin Deisel.
8. Metal Gear Solid: V
Kiefer Sutherland
Although there was a lot of controversy surrounding the acting choice of Keifer Sutherland over 17-year Metal Gear veteran David Hayter, the game did end up as a great success, with Sutherland’s performance standing up to negative expectations.
Kojima stated that Keifer was chosen because he needed the actor to also portray the character with facial movements along with his voice, and it resulted in a fantastic performance by Sutherland.
9. Fallout 3
Liam Neeson
The writers of Fallout 3 already had Liam Neeson in mind when they were writing the dialogue for James, your father in the game. The scene is intense and dramatic, a style that Neeson is very famous for.
The voice is held in very high regards and adds a great touch to the game.
10. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Samuel L. Jackson
Showing a different side to the beloved Samuel Jackson, he appeared in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as a crooked cop instead of the hero he’s used to playing.
This added an interesting spin on the game and Jackson actually performed so well that he was awarded Best Performance at the 2004 Spike Video Game Awards.
What other celebrity appearances have made games awesome? Let me know in the comments!
title: “10 Times Celebrity Involvement Made Games Awesome” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-28” author: “Terrance Winchell”
Many celebrities have been very vocal about their love for video games, and while an abundance enjoy sitting on the couch playing the games themselves, plenty more have gotten involved by making those games even better.
Here are 10 examples of celebrities getting involved with video games and making them even better than they would have been otherwise:
1. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Kevin Spacey
As Kevin Spacey was gaining traction for his role as Francis Underwood in House of Cards, the Call of Duty marketing team took advantage of his fame and placed his image and voice in their commercials for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
The extra attention he was receiving for his villainous, yet strangely likable, character on the Netflix original series, Activision made a fantastic marketing choice by casting him as the antagonist.
2. EA Sports UFC
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee is a household name, and legend and is often associated with his fighting skills. EA Sports took advantage of this and decided to make Bruce Lee an unlockable character in their adaptation of the UFC game.
Players had to beat the game on the Pro difficulty or higher to be able to use the martial arts master.
3. The Sims: House Party
Drew Carey
The Sims: House Party was a take on the fan favorite Sims franchise centering around throwing the best house party possible. Bringing your favorite Project X fantasies to life, successfully completing a raging house party would result in none other than Drew Carey showing up to your in-game doorstep.
Carey would show up in his limo after your party lasted at least 135 minutes and held a score of 55 or higher.
4. World of Warcraft
Mr.T, William Shatner, Verne Troyer, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Willy Toledo, Chuck Norris, Ozzy Osbourne, etc.
A few years ago, Blizzard Entertainment created a series of TV commercials featuring a number of celebrities. On top of these commercials, Blizzard has been known to place many easter eggs and cameos in all of their games, including Diablo and Starcraft.
These commercials, however, paved the way for others to see World of Warcraft in a new, cool light. Some of these celebrities, such as Chuck Norris, were and are looked up to. World of Warcraft changed the way the public eye saw their game.
5. Beyond: Two Souls
Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe
At the Tribeca Film Festival in 2013, Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe made their video game debut as Jodie Holmes and Nathan Dawkins in Beyond: Two Souls.
Not only did they voice act their characters, but they also had their likeness captured within the game. So it garnered the attention of both video game and film fans, drawing much more attention to the game and opening many doors for others to follow suit.
6. Call of Duty: Ghosts
Snoop Dogg
In the Call of Duty: Ghosts release, Snoop Dogg was recruited to provide some DLC voiceover work. Players could download his voice pack for a different take on the traditionally serious commentary in many first person shooters.
Snoop Dogg’s DLC made the game that much funnier and edgy to play as the Call of Duty: Ghosts announcer, ya dig?
7. Chronicles of Riddick
Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel annihilates all stereotypes by proving that anyone, in any shape or size, can be an inherent gamer. His love of gaming ran so deep that he founded his own game development company called Tigon Studio.
Tigon Studios was responsible for the creation of the Chronicles of Riddick series, which was well-received and wouldn’t have been possible without the involvement of Vin Deisel.
8. Metal Gear Solid: V
Kiefer Sutherland
Although there was a lot of controversy surrounding the acting choice of Keifer Sutherland over 17-year Metal Gear veteran David Hayter, the game did end up as a great success, with Sutherland’s performance standing up to negative expectations.
Kojima stated that Keifer was chosen because he needed the actor to also portray the character with facial movements along with his voice, and it resulted in a fantastic performance by Sutherland.
9. Fallout 3
Liam Neeson
The writers of Fallout 3 already had Liam Neeson in mind when they were writing the dialogue for James, your father in the game. The scene is intense and dramatic, a style that Neeson is very famous for.
The voice is held in very high regards and adds a great touch to the game.
10. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Samuel L. Jackson
Showing a different side to the beloved Samuel Jackson, he appeared in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as a crooked cop instead of the hero he’s used to playing.
This added an interesting spin on the game and Jackson actually performed so well that he was awarded Best Performance at the 2004 Spike Video Game Awards.
What other celebrity appearances have made games awesome? Let me know in the comments!
