Current State of the Sneaker Game

[pilot]

I have been collecting and wearing my sneakers for many years now, but I am starting to feel like the sneaker game is becoming somewhat of a joke. There are too many "Heat" releases lol! I feel like all the sneaker providers are doing way too much with their shoes, Nike specifically. They are trying to make every shoe "Hyped" or "Fire" lol! This seems to have all stemmed from the insane Galaxy Foamposite 1 release and the galaxy Kobe 7, KD 4, Lebron 9, Zoom Rookie, but mainly the foamposite release. Since there are so many of these "heat" releases, everyone claims to be a "sneakerhead" lol! The community is now polluted and it seems to take away the novelty. Here are some examples of what I feel are sneakers that shouldn't have ever been released because they are just ridiculous! What do you guys think about this trend and the sneaker game nowadays? 

 

[yeezy83]

waits for sneaker "bubble" to POP...deep discounts

 

[L7oser]

What is this sneaker game you speak of?

 

[Chopper]

This thread again? The "game" has been F'd up since about '04, if not a couple years earlier, for the record.

I hope Nike keeps the hype train alive. Watch that stock continue to rise

 

[teamjordan79]

they have managed to blur the line between shoehead collector and an obsessive hoarder consumer. At the end of the day Nike just wants you to buy the shoes they make by releasing incessant reiterations of the same sneakers. The hype and the prestige of these releases were only created to sweeten the deal, so to speak, and increase buyer satisfaction in the consumers' minds.

 

[L7oser]

Adidas, Reebok, Vans, Saucony, Asics, Converse, New Balance....................................

Step away from the Swoosh

 

[tupac jordan]

What is the foams above the weathermans supposed to be?

 

[lil black jean jacket]

Was waiting all year for this thread to come up again, I knew in my dreams it would be a matter time before it would happen again . .

|I

 

[Chiron]

Forget the trash shoe companies are putting out. I cant even obtain the stuff I actually like anymore. Literally cant get hands on new releases even if I wanted to. Bots, Raffles, Resellers. That's the state of the game. I'm just hoping I can purchase the taxi 12 and maybe the 11 at the end of the year. Bred 1s would have been cool but I already gave up with all the hype.
I'm just done jumping through hoops to spend what already costs a lot. 

 sad days

 

[JayDean03]

Nike Retros, Other Brand Retros, and if a Jordan that I really need releases, then that's all I will cop.

Im not eem worried bout shoes like that anymore. The kids can have it.

 

[mugen81]

#teamvans lol

 

[hennessy]

These posts have got to stop.

 

[knowledgebones72]

Chiron I feel ya bruh.

I wanna cop the Laney V's but I was in the mall and people are getting ready to get raffle tickets and stand in line for some regular Jordan's nowadays.

Like, these aren't some special pair of V's. The Laneys weren't like of accertain significance like the Oly 6/7's or Playoff XII's. They're just a certain color way of V's.

I really wanted them. I barley cop J's anymore simply because I'm an adult with better stuff to spend my money on. But now I prob won't even cop, simply cause I refuse to deal with all that hassle just to spend too much money anyway.

Nike/Jordan has officially raped the "sneaker head" culture, and this current generation is loving every inch of it.

 

[ghenges]

I don't want to be one of those dudes who talk about how much better it was back in the day. I still poke my head in the sneaker forums every now and then to see what's going on.

One of the odd things I notice is that people post brand new releases (not retros) that came out 2 months ago and say "MY GRAILS!". That was hard for me to understand. Grails in my day were shoes that you had as a kid that hadn't been retro'd yet or a shoe you've been looking for in your size for years. But I guess it is what it is.

Just remember kids: They will all turn to dust sooner or later.

Also: No girl ever let a dude smash because of the shoes he had on.

 

[sonoftony]

I haven't bought a pair of new nikes in such a long time. I'm almost 30 and I've come to realize a long time ago that most of these dudes wear these new kicks...just to impress other dudes. It's disgusting .

 

[fresh out dabox]

true^

 

[knowledgebones72]

I honestly had my heart set on copping the Laney's, keeping them on ice until July, then wearing them as my everyday sneakers and just go between those and Minetonka Moccasin on some late 90's prep school ****.

 

[L7oser]

I don't want to be one of those dudes who talk about how much better it was back in the day. I still poke my head in the sneaker forums every now and then to see what's going on.

One of the odd things I notice is that people post brand new releases (not retros) that came out 2 months ago and say "MY GRAILS!". That was hard for me to understand. Grails in my day were shoes that you had as a kid that hadn't been retro'd yet or a shoe you've been looking for in your size for years. But I guess it is what it is.

Just remember kids: They will all turn to dust sooner or later.

Also: No girl ever let a dude smash because of the shoes he had on.

Was with you til that last part lol. It happens..................................

 

[nazdrowie]

i blame kids.

 

[teamjordan79]

i blame kids.

yea but kids existed prior to '04, meanwhile Nike discovered a great formula to create hype (from sb's, jordans and other retros) and ran with it.

What kid nowadays wouldn't be tantalized by the color-ways, celebrity endorsement, and a sense of prestige as a result from buying exclusive kicks?
It's like dangling candy in front of a kid and then blaming him for grabbing it. So I gotta disagree, its not the kids. With all the research and focus group data, Nike now knows kids better than kids themselves.

 

[miniojw]

I haven't bought a pair of new nikes in such a long time. I'm almost 30 and I've come to realize a long time ago that most of these dudes wear these new kicks...just to impress other dudes. It's disgusting .

That's about it. Copping kickz to impress other people is not a good formula. LOL @ people still calling it an investment or art. IMO of course.

 

[lil black jean jacket]

ehh, we can't really blame anyone except ourselves. for some reason down the road . . we let this happen (I'm sounding real weird but whatever)

 

[jj watt]

It's this new generation.

Hype is at a all time high because of these kids along with social networking / Internet.

People see each other posting fits / pick ups / etc and have to out do each other just to play the part.

You have dozens of sneaker websites / blogs / forums. Everyone has access to RDs / where to cop / stand in line.

Not to mention celebs rocking all this stuff.

This is what the "sneaker culture/ collecting" has become and it's staying that way.

 

[joepac12]

I'm moving away from retro j's. Last pair I bought was bred 4 which fit horribly. Been liking more simple shoes lately a few pairs of runners and really more comfortable shoes.

 

[trentbg]

 I have been collecting and wearing my sneakers for many years now, but I am starting to feel like the sneaker game is becoming somewhat of a joke. There are too many "Heat" releases lol! I feel like all the sneaker providers are doing way too much with their shoes, Nike specifically. They are trying to make every shoe "Hyped" or "Fire" lol! This seems to have all stemmed from the insane Galaxy Foamposite 1 release and the galaxy Kobe 7, KD 4, Lebron 9, Zoom Rookie, but mainly the foamposite release. Since there are so many of these "heat" releases, everyone claims to be a "sneakerhead" lol! The community is now polluted and it seems to take away the novelty. Here are some examples of what I feel are sneakers that shouldn't have ever been released because they are just ridiculous! What do you guys think about this trend and the sneaker game nowadays? 

I have to completely agree with you as well. As an old head, at least I consider my self one at age of 37, I have been in to kicks since late 80's, and up until recently the sneaker culture was still a live. Some time around the Concord release and a little bit before that, Nike/JB had it finally figure it out - create enough hype/publicity, no meter how, watch people kill each other over the hyped shoe and do nothing about it. Next step make every release that people want even more limited, add some extra hype again...And now we have it, these are the times we live in. Only Nike/JB can make things normal and back haw they were before, but they will never do it, now is the time to fish with dynamite. Kids will not get tired of chasing the next hype bait, re-sellers found a way to make their petty cash and hold hostage hundreds of thousands of pairs all over the ebay, and on top of that they helped fake/replica factories make a huge profit as well.  

Nike/JB simply ignore all the issues and continue down the profit way...