![Arnie Contra 3](https://images.timeextension.com/bb56225cefde8/arnie-contra-3.900x.jpg)
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.
![Arnie Contra](https://images.timeextension.com/35f8205e8face/arnie-contra.900x.jpg)
![Arnie Navy Moves](https://images.timeextension.com/cf9fbdad3fa0c/arnie-navy-moves.900x.jpg)
![Arnie Golden Axe 3](https://images.timeextension.com/80342f383780c/arnie-golden-axe-3.900x.jpg)
![Arnie Contra Spirits](https://images.timeextension.com/0b4c1a3a4b863/arnie-contra-spirits.900x.jpg)
![Arnie Streets of Rage 2](https://images.timeextension.com/b93e8ea10acd0/arnie-streets-of-rage-2.900x.jpg)
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.
![Sly Contra](https://images.timeextension.com/22f99a752c6ad/sly-contra.900x.jpg)
![Sly Sega](https://images.timeextension.com/d5ccca7463dd3/sly-sega.900x.jpg)
Do you have any memorable covers from this period which are clearly based on real-world stars? Let us know with a comment.