My perspective comes from someone who will play in his kicks. Years ago I may have been considered a sneakerhead, but once adulthood struck, other things became more important. I buy one pair of shoes to play ball in, and I wear them til' the wheels fall off, just as I did when I was a kid. If the shoe is well made, then with high quality materials, I expect them to last from three to nine months, while playing at least three to five times a week, perhaps five games per run. For 220, I'd expect that sort of shoe to last about a year, then perhaps even more. No offense to anyone here, but this is where I place value, and I never, ever fall for that performance hype. Performance for me is how durable and resilient the shoes are, while giving me support when and where I need it, for as long as they are able to be laced. Perhaps Kobe needs his shoes to feel as if they've been played in for six months or more, right out of the box, but the downside of that is when a shoe feels that way from the jump, this also means that they are not going to last very long, as per the last few models in his line. It seems that now if I am going to wear a Kobe Bryant shoe, then expecting it to last me for a good while, it's going to have to be the Crazy 8, or whatever they are calling them these days.
It's sad because I like the look of most of Kobe's newer shoes from Nike, I just wish Nike made them with better materials, especially if they are going to charge that much.
Good luck guys, and enjoy.