Oh Joystick!

Keds, in an odd and uncharacteristic move, recently released a new series under their PRO-Keds line of amazingly geeky, arcade coin-op inspired sneakers. The line, which features old friends like Pac-Man, Asteroids and Centipede, seems to be creating quite a frenzy in both the world as we know it and the world of gaming (where gamers are carelessly abandoning crucial dragon-battles in order to hunt down a pair). Apparently, the shoes are just a little revival of the Pac-Man series the company released in 1982, and I think Keds deserves a nice pat on the back for this bold re-release; partially because the shoes themselves are incredible, and partially because they haven’t really lived this close to the edge since they signed on Mischa Barton as spokesgirl. I’m a little worried that, in production, they neglected to consider the exponential increase in radness of arcade games since the eighties, because these shoes are seemingly impossible to find right now. I found a few (well, two) pairs on ebay, but unless I’ve been in all the wrong places, the land is barren. So happy hunting, guys, and tell us where to go if you find some.