“This is the stuff childhood dreams are made of.”

August 7, 2018 7:06 PM

You can now buy a pair of Nintendo-themed Air Jordans for $1250 [Moneyish] [Pepsi Nintendo Blue] “Only ten pairs of the Jordan “NES” IVs will be made, but at $1,250 each, they aren’t cheap (FreakerSneaks is selling an “NBA Jam”-themed pair of kicks at a similar price.) That said, though the shoes weren’t made with the imprimatur of Nintendo, FreakerSneaks knows there’s a market of now wealthy Gen Xers who grew up playing NES that will be willing to shell out.”

• A Timeline Of Video Game Sneaker Collaborations [Past Season]

“With the recent announcement of the new Playstation themed Nike Air Force 1’s, we decided to create a timeline of our favourite sneakers which are official collaborations with sneaker brands and video games. As a gamer, I have an appreciation for character customisation, collectables and limited edition items; these factors are also prevalent in streetwear, which may be the origin of why many of us love it so much.”

• K-Swiss Wants to Sell You Shoes to Play Video Games In [GQ]

““Where Nike makes shoes for athletes, we're making shoes for the new breed of sports,” says Patrick Buchanan, K-Swiss’s global marketing director. K-Swiss has teamed with an esports team called Immortals, which competes in tournaments for games like Counter Strike, Overwatch, Dota 2, and (hell yeah) Super Smash Bros. K-Swiss reworked the brand’s Kompass silhouette, a shoe head-scratchingly similar to the Adidas Ultra Boost with a slim mesh upper, attached cage, and foam sole. The first shoe, releasing in December, will just be recast in Immortals’ team colors ("cyan" and black), but Buchanan says K-Swiss will release a shoe engineered to elevate gamers’ performance next year. As part of the design process, K-Swiss designers will shadow the Immortals at their training facility to monitor how members of the team move while playing. Do they, like, tap their feet?”

• Puma’s Sonic the Hedgehog sneaker collection is just subtle enough to work [Polygon]

“Sonic the Hedgehog’s entire look is iconic, from the bizarrely blue fur down to his red sneakers and droopy socks. Many have tried to emulate his style, or at least his shoes, with varying success. The latest to try is Puma, the vaunted footwear brand, which will begin selling shoes inspired by Sonic starting June 5. The Sega and Puma collaboration features two pairs of shoes: the RS-0 Sonic and the RS- Dr. Eggman, each drawing from the characters’ respective color palettes. Puma says it was drawn to Sonic’s fur when designing the shoe, as well as the rings that adorn the beloved Green Hill Zone level. Those influences are apparent from the get-go; take a look.”

• Nike and PlayStation unite on these limited edition sneakers [The Verge]

“Nike has released a pair of PlayStation-themed shoes in collaboration with basketball player Paul George called the PG2. The PG2 is George’s second signature shoe (a follow-up to the PG1), and features light-up tongues bearing the PlayStation and PG logos. Buttons inside the tongues let you turn the lights on or off. There’s also a pulse mode where the lights flicker and vibrate, supposedly like a PlayStation Dual Shock controller. According to Engadget, the shoe’s batteries aren’t replaceable and have a lifespan of around 150 hours.”

• Gucci Partnered with Sega for Baffling $1,400 Shoes [US|Gamer]

“The shoes are available in an array of colors, but the design's most distinct feature are the gem-dotted straps that wind around each kick. To quote Snobette's breakdown of the accessory, "Subtly is everything this shoe doesn't stand for." The tongue of each shoe is embroidered with the word "Gucci" in the Sega font. Now that sing-song chant is in your head, isn't it? "Gu-cci~!" Welcome to the club. If these chunky Sega-shoes are in your sights, they can be yours in early July. Just be prepared to cough up a not-small amount of $1,400 USD. According to Snobette (which has a much better handle on this sort of topic than I do), the price tag for Gucci and Sega's feet-babies shatter the previous record held by Louis Vuitton's (frankly much better-looking) $1,090 USD ArchLight Sneaker.”

• Look At This NBA Player's Fortnite-Inspired Shoes [Gamespot]

“The NFL's JJ Watt is not the only professional athlete talking about Fortnite these days. Josh Hart, a guard for the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, is apparently a big fan of the Battle Royale game. He's such a big fan that he had Fortnite-inspired shoes commissioned and wore them on the court this weekend. Los Angeles based artist Salvador Amezcua, who goes by the name Kickstrodamis, created a custom pair of Nike Kobe shoes for Hart. They are pretty slick-looking, with a purple and green colour combination and Hart's name featured on them. There is also an image of Hart if he were Fortnite character and a line that says "Eliminated By JoshHartNova." Nice.”

• Get A Good Look at Converse's Beautiful Super Mario Bros. Sneakers [Kotaku]

“It's the little things that make these Mario shoes stand out: the Super Mario Bros. logo on the tongue; the hidden scenes from the NES classic on the inner panels; the Starman on the All Star heel logo. And yes, the box is pretty sweet, too. According to Highsnobiety, the Mario patterned sneakers hit in July, with the all-over print pairs—the World 1-1 pair and the Bowser's Castle pair—landing in August, only in Japan.”

posted by Fizz (22 comments total)

I might be going out on a limb here, but this seems excessive.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 7:10 PM on August 7, 2018 [6 favorites]

all the other kids
with the Punch-Out kicks
posted by cortex at 7:11 PM on August 7, 2018 [21 favorites]

My obsession with video game post on MetaFilter or $1250 Nintendo themed shoes? The answer to both is "yes".
posted by Fizz at 7:14 PM on August 7, 2018 [7 favorites]

No no don’t stop the video game posts, they’re my favorites.

It’s just - and I realize this might be an “unpopular opinion” - those shoes are kind of expensive.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 7:59 PM on August 7, 2018 [4 favorites]

Only a few of the shoes mentioned are that expensive. For example, the Playstation shoes are $110.
posted by eye of newt at 8:05 PM on August 7, 2018

If they don't come with the Nintendo seal of quality,... Why bother?
posted by Hicksu at 9:07 PM on August 7, 2018

Best of all, if they stop working, you just need to blow on them.
posted by 4ster at 9:11 PM on August 7, 2018 [5 favorites]

Do they still make plain old Keds? That's what I'd like.
posted by maurreen at 10:09 PM on August 7, 2018 [1 favorite]

> As part of the design process, K-Swiss designers will shadow the Immortals at their training facility to monitor how members of the team move while playing. Do they, like, tap their feet?”

I wonder how many of them end up just playing barefoot. I know I’m never wearing shoes when I poop myself in front of the PS4. Gotta love capitalism and its need to insert advertising in every available crevice.

Also I wish FreakerSnewks nothing but the best in finding someone with enough money and lack of taste to think dropping $1250 on trademark infringement sneakers sounds like fun...
posted by egypturnash at 10:50 PM on August 7, 2018

all the other kids
with the Punch-Out kicks

You'd better run, better run, faster than my wallet
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:56 PM on August 7, 2018 [4 favorites]

I *may* have spent $1250 on shoes over the course of my life.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:29 AM on August 8, 2018 [3 favorites]

Man, those Mario shoes are incredible. I’d wear the black Mario prints for sure. Of course, I balk at paying $50 for regular All Stars, so...
posted by uncleozzy at 3:23 AM on August 8, 2018

I'm not super into Vans, but they have a whole line of shoes devoted to video games. I'm not a fan of the shape/style of their shoes.
posted by Fizz at 5:19 AM on August 8, 2018

The new air Jordan's just reek of trying too hard, but I love the sonic puma sneakers and am sad they seem to be sold out.
posted by Veritron at 6:48 AM on August 8, 2018

I've shared this story in the past, but I'll link to it again b/c it's always funny/sad. My experience with purchasing Air Jordan's in the 90s as a pre-teen.
posted by Fizz at 7:07 AM on August 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

Weirdly relevant breaking news:

5 People Charged with Trafficking $73 Million of Fake Air Jordans
posted by Barack Spinoza at 9:03 AM on August 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

Fizz, as a dad, the story of your Air Jordans is what I'd call a teachable moment and thankfully my son has learned this early on. Popularity and/or cost are not always accurate indicators of quality.
posted by Ashwagandha at 9:21 AM on August 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

*yawn* back when I was a kid, you could buy NES-themed GLOVES... and unlike these shoes you could even use them as a NES controller

Call me back when I can use the shoes to make Mario jump
posted by caution live frogs at 10:43 AM on August 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

(bonus points if he sticks his little pixelated tongue out when jumping)
posted by caution live frogs at 10:43 AM on August 8, 2018

Fizz, as a dad, the story of your Air Jordans is what I'd call a teachable moment and thankfully my son has learned this early on. Popularity and/or cost are not always accurate indicators of quality.

Oh, it absolutely was. I learned abut quality/value/cost/trust. I smile now, but I'm sure I was annoyed at how right my father was at the time.
posted by Fizz at 10:47 AM on August 8, 2018

I was annoyed at how right my father was at the time

Ha - who likes it when there dad is right? I certainly didn't.
posted by Ashwagandha at 11:33 AM on August 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

I looked at those Puma Sonic things and... uh... if they wanted something that shouted "Sonic", why not pick up the old Puma Speedcats with a white sole, red top with white logo and white hightop, and maybe some golden trinket on the outside mimicking the buckle. It's not like their Ferrari licensed kicks almost didn't look like that.
posted by lmfsilva at 1:30 PM on August 8, 2018