Nike, Reebok Inks Videogame Product-Placement Agreements

Take-Two's "NBA 2K6" Allows Players To Design Nike Shoes

Take-Two Interactive has “entered into a strategic partnership” with Nike for its “NBA 2K6” videogame, while EA Sports has inked a deal with Reebok for “NBA Live 06”, according to Darren Rovell of ESPN.com. Gamers on “NBA 2K6” will have the chance to “design their own Nike shoe and put it on a player in the game.” The Nike shoes can only be placed on about 200 players that have deals with Nike or its Jordan or Converse brands. 2K Sports VP/Marketing Erik Whiteford said that Reebok and other brands will appear in the game but those shoes “will be less detailed.” Rovell notes Nike and Reebok “plan to coordinate with the gaming companies to release codes” allowing gamers the “chance to use new company shoes in the virtual world at the same time the shoes are released in the real world.” Nike also plans to design a “limited edition 2K5 shoe,” while the first 100 gamers that “unlock three varieties” of Allen Iverson’s retro Reeboks will win free shoes. Reebok Dir of Advertising & Interactive Marketing Marc Fireman noted that the company previously signed deals with EA Sports for “NBA Street” and “NFL Street” titles. Rovell writes the videogame companies do not offer exclusive deals to shoe companies, letting “the quest for realism preside over monetary temptation in the business” (ESPN.com, 9/20).