Nike To Promote Cleats In Video Game App

Nike wants to be the ultimate gamer — video gamer, that is.

The Beaverton, Ore.-based company plans to launch a vintage video game app as part of its new soccer cleat rollout. The three cleats, available in new seasonal colors, lands via the app today and on Nike.com later this week.

The athletic powerhouse — whose founder, Phil Knight, revealed earlier today that his memoirs would be released next spring through the Scribner imprint of Simon & Schuster Inc. — reimagined the colorways of the MagistaX, MercurialX and HypervenomX.

Nike Debuts Soccer Cleat with Video Game
A birds-eye view of Nike’s MercurialX.
CREDIT: Courtesy of Nike.

The company said the video game that accompanies the MagistaX, appropriately named MagistaX Breakthrough, “takes inspiration from vintage video game aesthetics, with graphics progressing from eight-bit to higher definition. The evolution mirrors the players progression through the game’s three levels, each of which is represented by a professional football player: Mario Goetze, Arda Turan and David Luiz, respectively.”

In true retro fashion, Nike said an arcade version of the game can be played in various spots throughout Europe and Asia.

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Check out a preview of the game, here.

Nike has turned to the past to drum up public excitement in soccer. In August, for instance, it brought back the soccer shoe — and video that topped 1 million views on YouTube — as a tribute to Brazilian player Ronaldinho.

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