Back in the early '90s, the world of video games was dominated by the SNES and Genesis / Mega Drive. These two 16-bit behemoths battled it out for living room supremacy, selling millions of units of hardware at a time when the industry seemed unstoppable.
Fast-forward to the present day, and Sega and Nintendo are now allies rather than rivals. That hasn't stopped Adidas and Nice Kicks from collaborating to create sneakers that hark back to that bitter rivalry (thanks, Forbes).
The "Rivalry Series" takes 1986's Adidas Rivalry shoe and spins it off into two unique colourways, each representing one side of the console war.
The "Rivalry Low Nicekicks" (as the shoes will be known) come in Low Core Black (Genesis) and White (SNES).
Speaking to Forbes about the collaboration, Nice Kicks' Bryan Tang – product lead and designer of the trainers – said:
The concept pitched to Nice Kicks was to tell a story about rivals, with given examples of famous sports teams and figures–just like how the Lakers and Celtics rivalry continues. Naturally, the Nice Kicks team thought outside the box and focused on something that was more niche and meant something to them. Growing up in the late 80s and early 90s, we didn’t have very many options for gaming consoles like we do now, and if we were lucky enough to have one, we would have to pick between Nintendo or Sega.
We all shared similar stories of going to our local game stores to window shop for the latest game, and the graphics they would use for the covers. Over time, a lot of these games got sold back to the stores and had blemishes such as adhesive residues or fades from sun damage. We took all those nostalgic feelings and incorporated them into the shoes, focusing on wearability and storytelling.
The Rivalry Low Nicekicks will cost $130 when they launch on August 16th. It would seem that the shoes launched in the UK earlier this year, so you might be able to pick up a pair now if you're in that part of the world.