The mainstream popularity of games like Fortnite have helped to normalize gaming, turning what was once a niche hobby into a fairly ordinary pasttime.
Naturally, numerous industries have caught on to this shift and are making concerted efforts to turn gamers into paying customers. Among those are multiple shoe companies that have released a shoe they claim to be ideal for gaming. That said, a recent piece on Dot Esports asks a podiatrist’s opinion on the effectiveness of gaming shoes, and—unsurprisingly—it turns out that most gamers would be better off without them.
Among the shoe brands in question are K-Swiss, whose gaming shoe was made in collaboration with the Immortals-owned Made In Brazil team and retails for $125, and Puma, whose more minimalist gaming shoe retails for $160.
Dot Esports has tasked Dr. Maggie Fournier, a podiatrist through the Gundersen Health System in Wisconsin, with analyzing the purported benefits of these and other so-called gaming shoes. Similar to most things in life, really, the viability of a pair of shoes, she argues, comes not from any supposed in-game performance enhancing capabilities (of which gaming shoes offer none,) but from whether or not they’re right for the individual gamer.
According to Fournier, there are actual benefits to wearing a good pair of shoes during a day spent in front of a PC or video game console. Break time spent walking around the house, it turns out, is better spent in a pair of shoes that offers the feet support than barefooted, Fournier explains. Possibly in acknowledgement of this, K-Swiss and Puma’s gaming shoes are made of mesh - a lighter material that can help assuage the awkwardness of wearing shoes indoors.
On the other hand, if a shoe is uncomfortable, no purported benefits will outweigh that discomfort. And according to Fournier, a higher price tag is no indicator of comfort. So while a particular gaming shoe may be right for a certain gamer, a cheaper pair of shoes may very well serve that same purpose.
Source: Dot Esports
