Pele He was the first global player to shine with the 10 shirt. In addition, he led Brazil to become the world power in national teams that it is today. But he also had another achievement: to be the first footballer to be part of the universe of video games.
His face was one of the best known on the entire planet, perhaps the most. O Rei, after winning the three-time world championship with Canarinha, reached dimensions never seen before in marketing and advertising.
A field that had barely been born in the 70s was that of video games, and who better than Pelé to popularize them.
Thus, in 1981 Atari released Pele’s Soccer, for the Atari 2600 console. The North American company founded by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney opted for the Brazilian star for its first soccer game, while for the basketball game it had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and in motorsport, Mario Andretti.
The three starred in this advertisement for the Atari 2600 video games.
The most curious thing about Pele’s Soccer was that it was not played eleven against eleven, but three against three, due to the technical limitations of the time and for the user’s convenience.
But then other video games would come with Pelé as a leading figure. Let’s go see them.
Pele! (Mega Drive-Sega, 1993)
A year before the 1994 World Cup in the United States, which had Pelé among its ambassadors, Accolade developed Pelé!, with ideas and comments from the Brazilian.
Pelé II: World Tournament Soccer (Mega Drive – Sega, 1994)
The evolution of Pelé! appeared for the 1994 World Cup, following the same route as the previous edition.
Academy of Champions: Soccer (Wii, 2009)
Developed by Ubisoft, In this Nintendo Wii video game, Pelé ran a soccer school. The user had to complete several challenges with the legend in front.
EA Sports FIFA
Pelé’s letter has appeared in different editions of the saga EA Sports FIFA, for FIFA Ultimate Team.
Pele: Soccer Legend (Android, iOS)
Available for mobile, this video game developed by Poki It allowed you to follow in the footsteps of O Rei in career mode from the streets of Brazil to the great stadiums of the world.
Fortnite
Yes, yes, Pelé was honored in Fortnite, but not as a character, but with an emote, a celebratory gesture imitating his famous jump after the goals.
