Germany based Puma, the sportswear company, has created its first product aimed at the eSports market. The new product is a sports shoe, and is dubbed Puma Active Gaming Footwear. Designed for indoor and arena use the shoe is rather sock-like in feel but "delivers seamless comfort, support and grip so gamers can adapt to different active gaming modes and game their best," according to the official product page.
If you are a competitive gamer and you feel like your footwear is letting you down then you can be assured that Puma looked very carefully at professional gamer needs in designing its first Active Gaming Footwear product. Puma says it held "extensive talks with professional gamers," and its key finding was that eSports champs were looking for a "sock-like shoe," that delivered comfort, light weight, and superb grip.
Construction of the Active Gaming Footwear is based upon a 3D knitted upper for fit and breathable comfort. The sole of the shoes features a split bottom for flexibility but a rubber surface covers the majority of the sole area. Inside you will find dual density foam, for under foot comfort with a 3D moulded insole for excellent fit.
Intriguingly the Puma eSports footwear offers three different active gaming modes, as follows:
- Medial wrap-up grip in SEEK mode
- Lateral wrap-up support in ATTACK mode
- Heel wrap-up stability in CRUISE and DEFENSE mode
From the product pages and video I'm not sure how these modes work. However, it seems you can adapt these shoes for a different grip profile using a TPU skin, as illustrated towards the end of the promo video (regular sole shown in image below)
Puma is currently selling its Active Gaming Footwear direct for GBP£80 with free shipping available (apply a code on page). Sizes available range from UK 4 to 10, which is a smaller range than usual for Puma mens' shoes according to the size guide on the page. There are no shoe colour or RGB LED options.
