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How to buy sneakers for the hypebeast in your life
It's hard enough to find gifts for your loved ones during the holidays, but hypebeasts in particular are a picky bunch. They only want the most hyped products and the rarest sneakers, which can be a complicated world to navigate as a shopper if you're not familiar with it. But we're here to help. Thankfully, there are many ways to find something hypebeasts might like online -- even if you have to spend more money and time than you had hoped for. Here's how you can buy sneakers, apparel and even fanny packs (they call them waist bags) for the hypebeasts in your life.
GOAT expands into apparel and accessories
The online sneaker marketplace GOAT is expanding into apparel and accessories. Today, it announced that it's adding "contemporary and luxury brands," including Acne Studios, Maison Margiela, Off-White, Stussy, Gucci and Saint Laurent.
GOAT's new AR feature lets you 'try on' the hottest sneaker drops
Online sneaker marketplace GOAT is rolling out an augmented reality "Try-On" feature, letting you virtually wear some of the rarest and most expensive kicks in the world, without having to stump up megabucks for the privilege. It's early days for the feature, but it adds to GOAT's roster of existing AR activities, which included unveiling pre-release Travis Scott x Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG's in AR before they officially launched earlier this year. The company's digital ambitions have already attracted a lot of attention from more traditional sneaker retailers -- Foot Locker, for example, invested $100 million in GOAT earlier this year.
Sneaker marketplace GOAT has an app just for China
Scoring a pair of limited-edition Vans or Air Jordans just got easier for Chinese consumers. Online sneaker marketplace GOAT announced their official launch in China today with a new localized app just for Chinese consumers, along with a WeChat version tailored for the popular messaging app. In the past, Chinese consumers relied on the US app to buy and sell sneakers. The nation has already grown to become GOAT's second-largest market, just behind the US.
GOAT lets you preview sneakers in AR before they launch
Today, the secondary sneaker seller GOAT released an augmented reality feature that will let users see pre-release sneakers in AR. This isn't the first time a company has let users view sneakers in AR, but GOAT users will be able to preview the shoes before they launch.
The best apps for buying sneakers
I can't even remember how many times I've had to get in line at a FootLocker to buy the latest pair of Air Jordans. But that was years ago, long before websites and apps became the main way I shop for sneakers. Nowadays, if I do end up at a FootLocker, it's because I won a raffle through its app and just have to go pick up a pair of shoes -- no waiting on long lines necessary. With the rise of smartphones and the internet as a whole, retailers along with brands like Nike and Adidas have turned to technology to sell sneakers, especially limited-edition ones that have the potential to cause physical fights. If I want a pair of Jordans in 2019, I just use Nike's SNKRS app, and I don't have to worry about someone jumping me for them as I leave a store.
Foot Locker invests $100 million in online sneaker seller GOAT
Foot Locker announced today that it is investing $100 million into GOAT Group, the operators of the massive secondary sneaker market GOAT. In addition to providing an influx of cash, the companies said they plan to work together to leverage Foot Locker's brick and mortar presence with GOAT's digital marketplace.
GOAT sneaker marketplace partners with NBA player Kyle Kuzma
Online sneaker marketplace GOAT announced that Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma will serve as the company's brand ambassador. Today's announcement marks the first partnership between a sneaker reselling platform and a professional athlete. During this NBA season, GOAT will outfit Kuzma with 'rare and highly-coveted Nike sneakers,' which he'll wear both on and off the court
Sneaker Con bets NFC will keep fakes off its new shoe-selling app
Buying limited-edition sneakers, like Kanye West's Yeezys, isn't easy. Whether they drop on a site, in an app or a brick-and-mortar store, they often sell out in minutes, sometimes seconds. This sense of scarcity is what's behind the growth of secondhand online sellers such as StockX and GOAT, where you can find basically any hyped shoe that's ever been released by Adidas or Nike... for a premium, of course. What makes these sites popular is that they guarantee authenticity. With StockX, for instance, any pair you get from it comes with a QR code verification tag, but that's only for internal use. GOAT, meanwhile, sends you a letter saying the shoes have been authenticated. But these are decidedly low-tech and not particularly transparent solutions. Sneaker Con, a company that hosts conventions for sneakerheads all over the world, is hoping to add a 21st-century twist to the authentication game.
ICYMI: Goat-inspired robot design and apple picking
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A researcher at Carnegie Mellon created the GOAT leg for robots that moves much like a pogo-stick and posted a video of its tests to YouTube. Meanwhile a robot to harvest apples might still be in prototype, but it's miles more advanced than the thing that just shakes trees violently until all the apples fall off. The mechanized sushi chef video can be found here, the boy who swallowed a dog toy here, and Joe Biden not being able to let go is here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Goat MMO Simulator boasts one level more than World of Warcraft
Few moments in MMO history have been as pivotal and groundbreaking as what we are witness to today. For we, the humble gamers of the year 2014, are about to embark on an adventure that makes every online effort to date look like E.T. for the Atari 2600. As of later this week, Goat Simulator will become an MMO (simulator). The inexplicably bizarre sandbox hit is preparing to roll out a free DLC patch that will have one more level than that "other" MMO. With 101 levels, dozens of quests, five classes (including Microwave), and "factional warfare between goats and sheep," the newly christened Goat MMO Simulator will take the zany gameplay to the nth degree. Don't believe us? We have the video proof after the jump as well as 500 incredulous comments down below (commenters, please don't let us down on this after we vouched for you here).
TUG alpha patch allows you to hunt dumb goats
What purpose do really dumb goats serve? If they're in TUG's new 0.6.3 alpha update, it's to be hunted for their pelts and cooked over a roaring flame. In a new video, TUG shows off several of the sandbox elements that went into today's patch. Players can create and cultivate farms, or alternatively go hunting for the aforementioned "dumb goats." There is also a physics system in place for projectiles, new craftables, and the ability to have a good old-fashioned cook-out. We're not kidding around, this is one goat-tastic video. Check it out after the break!
Multiplayer hijinks, new map join Goat Simulator in May
Those who have already exhausted the myriad ways to wreck stuff in Goat Simulator will be happy to hear that the game's first patch both squashes bugs and brings new content for your cloven-hooved avatar to destroy. "Goat Simulator patch 1.1 adds local splitscreen multiplayer and a whole new playable map, coming in the middle of May," wrote Coffee Stain Studios in a recent tweet. The developer fails to offer any specifics on what this new map might contain or how the addition of a second goat might alter Goat Simulator's baffling gameplay, but we expect to hear more soon. If you haven't already played Goat Simulator, you can grab the game from Steam for $10. Respected goat resource GoatFinder lists prices for actual, live goats from $75 to $500, so consider Goat Simulator a bargain-priced entry to the world of naughty livestock. [Image: Coffee Stain Studios]
Goats are jerks, Goat Simulator proves it
For millennia goats have been known as the most demonic of livestock, and as this footage from Goat Simulator demonstrates, were they not kept in pens, goats would run amok, headbutting buckets into space, climbing ladders and sprinting headlong into moving cars. Created by Swedish developer Coffee Stain Studios for Global Game Jam 2014, Goat Simulator awards players points for their antisocial barnyard behavior. While never intended for retail release, the internet has unsurprisingly fallen for this combination of fuzzy beasts and wanton destruction. "When I woke up today my video with the damn goat had 100,000 views, which is like more than all our other real game trailers the last year combined," Coffee Stain PR manager Armin Ibrisagic told Vice. Following this unexpected outpouring of support, Coffee Stain is now pondering the future of Goat Simulator. "We are discussing what more we can do with Goat Simulator now that people have shown such an interest in it, but we don't want to promise anything," Ibrisagic said, adding, "We're going to listen to people's opinions in the coming couple of days and see how it goats." [Image: Coffee Stain Studios]
The Tattered Notebook: Linda Carlson on goat herding and community management
What do goat herding and community management have to do with one another? On the surface, you'd probably think not much, but at GDC Online this week, SOE Head of Global Relations Linda "Brasse" Carlson explained the parallels between her job as Community Manager and her job as a goat herder. In the talk, though, she not only gave advice on how to run a community management team but also shared some interesting observations about some of SOE's online communities in general. In this week's Tattered Notebook, we'll look at some of the highlights.
The Road to Mordor: The superiority of goats
I love goats. OK, pipe down there. I mean that I love the goat mounts in Lord of the Rings Online. Shush! Man, this column isn't starting well. It sounded better in my head. It's a well-known fact that LotRO lacks the mount diversity shown by most other fantasy MMOs. It's pretty much horses all the way down, and chances are it's going to stay that way thanks to the IP. Unless, of course, the devs give in to my flying eagles suggestion. There just isn't much wiggle-room in Tolkien's works for the Free People of Middle-earth to be taking a 2012 Mechanospider to work. However, the devs did shoehorn in one different flavor of mount for the Mines of Moria expansion. Goats received a room at the stable and were integral to navigating through the labyrinthine deeps. They never did match horses in terms of popularity or even variety, and I doubt that we'll be seeing War-goats for Riders of Rohan. Still, if I had my pick (and I do), I'd pick goats any day of the week. They're so much better than horses, and I'm going to tell you just why.
Daily iPhone App: GoatUp
GoatUp is a surreal game made by Jeff Minter, the game developer behind Xbox Live's Space Giraffe and a number of other colorful (and often abstract) retro games over the years. GoatUp has you, as a goat, jumping up a series of platforms while eating grass and collecting various items. The gameplay is often wild, as the series of worlds you go through features homages to the various ages of platforming games. It's always crisp and interesting, with excellent retro graphics, finely tuned controls, and a fun set of mechanics. Everything is backed up by a plethora of gaming references, from the silly to the extremely subtle. GoatUp is a simple title, but it's a lot of fun, and it shows just how much joy the iOS platform seems to inspire in a very experienced developer like Minter. The game features both OpenFeint and Game Center integration, and it's available from the App Store as a universal app right now for US$1.99.
The Road to Mordor: A conspiracy of hats
The hat, as they say, makes the man. Or the woman. Or the Dwarf. Unfortunately, in Lord of the Rings Online, the hat often makes the man completely silly. I'm not quite sure how it happened, but the hats in LotRO have garnered the reputation as being goofy as all get out. Sure, this is hardly a fresh observation, but I've wanted to address it in this column for a while now, so it might as well be today! Rumor has it that Turbine's artists drew upon actual medieval outfits to lend an authentic, renaissance faire vibe to the game. This is perhaps why there is such a distinct fashion style in LotRO that you don't see in other MMOs. Our modern sensibilities, with such fashion achievements as tank tops and crocs, make hauberks and codpieces seem quaint and ridiculous. Truly, we are seeing the height of human civilization in 2010. So while it's laudable that Turbine tried to give us the real deal, that doesn't quite excuse the fact that many of the hats -- especially the light armor versions -- are unbearably weird. It's as if, as The Pix'led Life speculated, there's a conspiracy of hats afoot: "Let's see what we can make them swallow!" one artist cackles. "Ooh, I know -- how about 16 varieties of dunce hats?" laughs another. I kid, I kid. There are 17. Hit the jump and let's take a terrifying journey through headgear that seeks to conquer Sauron by making the Enemy laugh himself to death.
Nokia says 'very small' number of N8s aren't turning on, warranty will cover it
We've been getting a few tips this week -- and seeing a few things on Twitter -- saying that N8s are failing in noticeable quantities, but we wanted to hold off until we'd figured out what was really going on. Well, Nokia's own Niklas Savander is commenting on the situation now -- so we'd say it's definitely real -- though he's insisting the number of affected units is "very small" and that the company's normal warranty rules apply, so owners of dead units should contact their local support number. That's all well and good, but getting service on a paperweight is still a bummer, especially when said phone is your primary means of communication -- so let's hope these guys turn around serviced devices in a hurry. What do you call a dead N8, by the way? N8 owner: A tragedy iPhone owner: DOA Android owner: About as useful as any other N8 N900 owner: A missed opportunity Store sales rep: Dummy unit Symbian Foundation employee: Justice Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo: Karma A goat: Dinner [Thanks, John]
Cricket hires goats to eat blackberries (video)
Yes, you did read that headline right, but it's not quite what you think -- rather than a children's tale of talking crickets and cell phone-eating goats, we're talking about clearing brambles covered with tiny black fruit at the cell towers of Cricket Wireless. The carrier hired a herd of goats to munch away at some troublesome growth at Oregon transceivers just last week, in a trial for a potential contract that could fill goat bellies at dozens of blocked base stations and save thousands of dollars for the company. "I'd rather have my operations team keeping our customers' Blackberries in perfect working order so we've hired the goats to take care of the other blackberries at our cell sites," Cricket's Keith Casey told OregonLive, using a variation on the pun that's no doubt been thrown around Cricket offices for months.
