Some radioadvertisements in Grand Theft Auto III explain the "benefits" of working for the company, such as one employee (who appears to be a child) earning $1 a day. The company employs another child Joey, who once "sewed his hands together".
In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Eris shops can be found in San Andreas, although the player can only buy Eris T-shirts from Binco stores. There are radioadvertisements for one Eris product, called "Pump-Up shoes", a parody of the real life Nike Air Jordan basketball shoes, which also sported inflatable air pockets inside the shoe. According to Eris, 'women love winners, and winners wear shoes.'
In Grand Theft Auto IV, it is revealed that Pete Vassal, one of the founders and board members of Eris, was involved in a steroid scandal in 2008, courting more controversy.
As reported by S Fiona Scott, Eris attempted to deflect attention from their unethical labor practices in Africa and Southeast Asia. In a new message from Vassal, he states that products are sold "at a 10,000% markup" and how "children require less sleep and women are better at multi-tasking." In response, the reporter says, "all of the right-wing, white-trash hillbillies who read Weazel News will lap up this capitalist propaganda." Furthermore, she claims that Eris invades local communities, forcing them into slave labor.
Inaccessible Eris shops also make a physical appearance throughout Liberty City. The player cannot wear anything made by the brand, however. Despite this, many pedestrians can been seen wearing Eris clothing, footwear and backpacks.
The company is a parody of Nike. Eris means 'strife' in Greek, whereas Nike means 'victory'. The logo is also somewhat similar to that of DC Shoes because of letter "E" being inverted, much like the "D" and "C".
The radio commercials in Grand Theft Auto III and news articles in Grand Theft Auto IV are references to Nike's sweatshops and alleged use of child labor to manufacture its products.
A good shoe starts from the ground up. At Eris we make high-quality footwear. In fact, you can find Eris running shoes in over 140 countries around the world. In the past, there has been some criticism about our workers. That's why I'm here in one of Eris factories so you can meet some of them... Excuse me, sir, do you enjoy your job here?
Child:
It's fun... We get to play with knives!
Voiceover:
Heh, I see... is there a real sense of teamwork?
Child:
My friend Joey sewed his hands together!
Voiceover:
Wow, you're learning some real skills! How about the salary and benefits?
Child:
Yesterday, I made a dollar!
Voiceover:
You see, that's the kind of dedication we have to our employees and the quality of our shoes. Eris Running Shoes. Always running... from something.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas[]
Transcript
Woman:
Pump!
Man 1:
I’m running on air! I’m walking on clouds! I don’t exercise.
Woman:
I don’t care... pump it!
(sound of air pumping, then explosion)
Woman:
(sighs with pleasure)
Man 1:
I paid top-dollar for these incredible high-technology polyester shoes to walk around the mall and shop for more sports equipment I won’t play sports in!
Woman:
Pump it!
Man 1:
I need to get more from life. Much more! I need get high, really high! High on air!
(sound of air pumping, then explosion)
Man 1:
Oh yeah! These Eris shoes really pump up!
Man 2:
That’s right! You can now buy some air! The science of sports and marketing results in a shoe that pumps! Sound silly to you? What if we told you that Eris Pump-Up would improve your game by 300 percent?
Man 1:
But I don’t have a game!
(background music stops)
Woman:
You gotta have game! Be a winner!
Man 2:
Pump up, and slam dunk!
(sound of air pumping, then turntable scratching)
Man 1:
Oh yeah!
Woman:
God, the size of your shoes!
Man 2:
You’ll shave seconds off your personal best!
Man 1:
Oh yeah! You mean I can whack off even more times a day?
Woman:
Pump it...
Man 2:
Absolutely! Probably five times more! Because you’ll be walking on air! You’ll feel so much more athletic after pumping up your shoes, you’ll automatically lose weight and feel high-tech! Just like a sports star! You are a star!
Woman:
Now you’re a winner! With air in his shoes!
Man 1:
Now I can reach for the stars! I’ve pumped up my ego!
In Max Payne 3, some of the enemies wear clothes bearing GTA IV's Eris logo. This is either an Easter egg or an oversight due to reused assets by Rockstar Games.
The first letter in the Eris logo is actually a symbol of the five-fingered hand of Eris, a logo in the Principia Discordia as a symbol of the same-named goddess of Chaos. This is a nod to the cult of "Discordianism", a popular mock-religion popularized by The Illuminatus Trilogy.
