I've owned a few pairs of video game-themed sneakers over the years. But the ones I've actually worn out IRL? Only one pair—the Pumas tied into True Crime: New York— have won that honor. The colorway and city-street grid worked with an understated branding that was surprisingly subtle and with what I already had in my closet. I'm particular about this kind of thing. Ask Totilo; he'll tell you.
Now, these limited-edition Need for Speed The Run Adidas Originals. I'm not a high-top guy at all, but these seem to pass the test. All-black patent leather with grey accents. My size 12s approve. A limited run of 50 kicks will be debuting today at the Adidas Originals in Chicago, followed by another 50 that will be sold at the San Francisco store on the 22nd. Both venues will have fancy-schmancy events to celebrate the elite sneakers, with DJ Neil Armstrong and Kids These Days playing in Chicago and Mick Boogie in San Francisco.
There will doubtless be queuing up for these babies. Ironic, no? Standing in line for shoes tied into a racing game. But, here's an even bigger irony: the shoes weren't ready in time to be the upcoming Frostbite 2-powered racer and EA says that they won't be made available as a download later on. So, they'll only exist in real world. Whoa.
You can contact Evan Narcisse, the author of this post, at evan@kotaku.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.