STACK #185 Mar 2020

GAMING FEATURE

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Are you in the market for a gaming chair? Take a seat and let us do the hard yards for you. Words Adam Colby

P re-2006, the notion of a purpose-built chair for gaming was, by and large, unheard of. While office chairs were reconstituted by PC gamers to fit the task, console gamers would settle for anything from a beanbag to a barstool to a couch. It was DXRacer, a company that specialises in luxury sports car seating, that rolled out the first bespoke gaming chair 14 years ago. A premium product both in design and cost, the appetite for games-focused furniture would remain a niche market. That was, of course, until the streaming platformTwitch began to gain traction; when streamers went on camera, they wanted their gear to look the part. In 2020, gaming chairs are big business, with a wide range of designs and purposes available at JB. So where do you start if you decide to upgrade on that threadbare, food-stained old faithful? Read on!

Why do I need a gaming chair?

Racer Chair – As the name suggests, this one is designed to be used for gamers who have a preference for racing titles. Not a huge departure from the PC chair DNA, the seat resembles – and indeed feels like – a top end sports car bucket seat. Rockers – One for the console gamers here. Again, the perfect excuse for slinging out the beanbag, the rocker parks you on the floor in a seat right before your screen. But here’s the kicker – it’s a full functioning multimedia gaming chair often complete with speakers for full game immersion. Pedestal – This hybrid incorporates the swivel and tilt function of the PC and racer chairs with the compactness and multimedia options afforded by the rocker chairs. Do your research After spending years parked in a variety of gaming chairs from many different manufacturers, the one constant we have taken from this experience is no one chair fits all. What does that mean? Well, if you’re 6ft 4 and weigh 98kgs, not all choices are going to be suitable, so it’s important to ascertain that your height and weight is catered for with the chair you buy. There are plenty of options available.

In short, ask yourself this question: whether you’re a PC gamer or ply your skills on a console, do you spend long periods of time in front of a screen playing games? If the answer is yes, then it makes sense to invest in furniture that no only gives you good overall support for your body but also comfort for those all night gaming sessions. It stands to reason that while you probably wouldn’t think twice in upgrading keyboards, headsets or mice to enhance your gaming performance, the same should apply to the seat that you’re gaming in. Are gaming chairs all the same? Not at all. While PC gamers are at the forefront of most designer’s minds, console gamers are well catered for too, so you can lob that filthy dog-slobber-covered beanbag into the bin. You can roughly break the styles down into four categories: PC gaming chairs, racer chairs, rockers and pedestal chairs. PC Gaming Chairs – Not too dissimilar to an office chair in appearance and functionality, the PC variety generally has a higher back and many different positions that can be adjusted for comfort and support.

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MARCH 2020

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