For real collectors, owning something is not enough, they strive to swap their valuable items with others. This philosophy is behind new Nike’s project Nike Shoe Boxxxx in Japan, which invites the brand’s consumers to create virtual collections of Nike sneakers. The new initiative has been rolled with the dedicated app on Facebook, allowing users from around the globe to reveal their inner sneaker enthusiasts and collectors.

Photo: A snapshot from the Nike Shoe Boxxxx, www.apps.facebook.com/nike-shoe-boxxxx

“Nike has been releasing masterpieces for over 40 years. Now, Nike brings these shoes back to life in the digital world. Join the players from around the world. Collect these shoes and discover the stories behind them,” writes the brand in the app on Facebook. To get in, a user is asked to choose three shoes from the boxes in a random way, and then he or she can trade the selected sneakers by sending a trade request to another user to get the items they want more (including rare ones) and receive bonus shoes. Users also can display their shoe collections and invite friends to join the shoe trading frenzy. The app’s mission is also to tell the audience more about Nike’s great collection—users can read detailed description.

Each users get three virtual pairs to start the game, and the more trading requests are accepted, the more points users get and the more sneakers they can have in their collection, including ‘certain rare shoes.’ The app is available in Japanese and English, and most of its users are from Japan—the local Nike office knows how to engage the brands fans in the most inspiring way (for instance, Nike Japan launched the Free Face game this spring and kicked off the global Ekiden relay race in 2011).