It was easier for sports game designers back in the day. In those august times, you just slapped the general shape of an athlete together, gave him the rough approximation of the correct haircut, made sure he was the right colour, and you were good. Before that, you often only had to make sure one guy was done right. Salad days, my friends.
But now, holy shit, game designers have to be accurate as hell. There’s no excuse for not getting the look, size and shape of a person totally right — right down to the tattoos.