EA Reveals Need for Speed The Running Shoes

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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EA Reveals Need for Speed The Running Shoes


EA and Adidas have come together for a "one-of-a-kind lifestyle and gaming partnership for Need for Speed The Run."

Remember when we told you about the limited edition Call of Duty Jeep Wrangler [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/103542-Limited-Edition-Call-of-Duty-Jeep-Coming-From-Chrysler], which just about all of you agreed was the stupidest cross-promotion ever? In the finest spirit of cynical one-upmanship, allow me to now direct your attention to something possibly even worse: the exclusive, limited-edition Need for Speed The Run Adidas-branded running shoes.

"Our goal with Need for Speed is to be more than just a videogame franchise, as we view ourselves as a leader in youth and automotive culture as well," said EA Senior Marketing Director Kevin Maher.

50 pairs of the original Need for Speed The Run Top X shoes went on sale yesterday at the Adidas Originals store in Chicago, which is holding a promotional event on October 12 featuring DJ Neil Armstrong and Kids These Days as well as early access to the new Need for Speed game. 50 more pairs will be up for grabs on October 22 in San Francisco, followed by an event headlined by Mick Boogie on October 27. A third event will go down on November 15 in New York to mark the game's release.

"Worse" is relative, of course, and gamers presumably won't have to drop more than 30 large to pick up a pair of these things, which definitely weighs in their favor. But some of the quotes peppered through this press release are nothing short of amazing. If you thought "one-of-a-kind lifestyle and gaming partnership" and "a leader in youth and automotive culture" were awesome, get a load of what Simon Atkins, the Adidas "head of Sport Style Division," had to say about it.

"When we heard about Need for Speed The Run, we felt like it was a great fit with our brand and our core consumer, as Need for Speed shares our same vision of striving to be the leading lifestyle brand in their respective industry," he declared.

What?

Need for Speed The Run [http://www.amazon.com/Need-Speed-Run-Limited-Xbox-360/dp/B003O6N266/ref=sr_tr_sr_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318353353&sr=8-1] comes out on November 15 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, 3DS and PC.


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Agayek

Ravenous Gormandizer
Oct 23, 2008
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lolwut?

This is the silliest thing I've heard all week. Made worse by the fact that the shoes themselves look atrocious. It's like they took an old-school Converse, took all the good bits out and replaced it with some fugly ass shiny plastic.
 

teqrevisited

New member
Mar 17, 2010
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B-but.. I... What?

"Our goal with Need for Speed is to be more than just a videogame franchise, as we view ourselves as a leader in youth and automotive culture as well,"

Excuse me whilst I staple my sides together again.
 

Scrustle

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Apr 30, 2011
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Third piece of absolutely mind destroyingly idiotic pieces of news I've seen today thanks to The Escapist. First the woman who sold her baby on Facebook and thought it wouldn't be illegal because she didn't keep it a secret, then a woman who claims that a 3D porno made her pregnant while her husband was fighting in Iraq (the baby is black while both parents are white), and the husband BELIEVES her! And now this. Now I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing that this is actually the least retarded thing out of that selection.
 

Scarim Coral

Jumped the ship
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Oct 29, 2010
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Unlike their past Star Wars shoes and Nike made a real version of that Back to the Future part 2 trainer, this does not make sense at all and the trainer doesn't appeal to me at all.
 

Rarhnor

New member
Jun 2, 2010
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So...

They're licensing athletic wear...for a game franchise...about cars...

Is this irony or a bad case of the "EA marketing department" again?
 

ultimateownage

This name was cool in 2008.
Feb 11, 2009
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When your CAR game has licensed SHOES, you know you've fucked up somewhere. I can't believe they forgot how car games work.
 

wrightguy0

New member
Dec 8, 2010
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What's this? I don't even...

Need for Speed shares our same vision of striving to be the leading lifestyle brand in their respective industry

does anyone else feel that this sentence is totally hollow and meaningless?
 

Andronicus

Terror Australis
Mar 25, 2009
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Andy Chalk said:
DJ Neil Armstrong
Wow, Neil Armstrong sure has been in a downward slope ever since coming back from the moon, hasn't he?

Sorry, I just couldn't resist.