Kobe Bryant has been an NBA player for a long, long time. His professional basketball career started in 1996 when he was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets directly out of high school.
Here's how he looked at the time:
And here's how Bryant looks now, on the cusp of retiring from the NBA after nearly 20 years on the court:
A pretty stark change, right? But that's not what we're here to show you.
Beyond the expected change that comes with 20 years of living, on the court or off, there's an even more stark change between Bryant's appearance in 1996 versus 2015: how he appears in basketball video games.
Look at this:
Kobe Bryant rendering in his first video game vs his last. pic.twitter.com/NX5wXY4Rjg
— Evan Reas (@evanreas) December 30, 2015
Whoa! Blast from the past, much?
That was 1996, when "NBA Live '97" launched for Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, PC, Sega Saturn (!), and Sony's first PlayStation.
Kobe Bryant is also featured as an LA Laker in the latest major NBA game, "NBA 2K16," nearly 20 years later. As you might imagine, he looks a bit different.
In fairness, Bryant was just 17-years-old when he was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets, and had barely passed 18 when he began the 1996-1997 NBA season. When he posted his retirement announcement this past November, he was 37-years-old.
While the comparison is a stark example of what's changed during Kobe Bryant's career as a basketball star, it might be an even starker example of how far video games have come in the past 20 years.
Just look at, say, the "Gran Turismo" racing series.
The first game in that franchise was a graphics powerhouse, setting a high bar for many PlayStation games yet to come. It came out in 1998.
And here's how far "Gran Turismo" has come in that time — this is "Gran Turismo 6," a 2013 PlayStation 3 game:
Exactly.
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