Why are gaming chairs so popular? Why millions buy them ever year
Can a chair really be worth that much?
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This industry has experienced a huge boom over the last decade, but why are gaming chairs so popular? Why is it that millions of people buy office chairs specifically for gaming?
We like gaming chairs here at WePC, and we’ve reviewed a lot of them over the years, and despite all this, they usually aren’t worth the money.
However, the gaming chair industry continues to grow year over year. Take Secretlab for example. According to Tech in Asia, the Singaporean furniture company managed to make 350m in revenue – not bad for a company that’s only been around since 2014.
Secretlab might be a bad example, however, as their chairs are actually worth buying. We won’t name names but there are a lot of gaming chair companies out there that churn out pure garbage, yet people continue to buy them.
Secretlab Titan EVO 2022 Series
Height range (Medium Size)
5’6″ – 6’0″
Maximum load
286lb/129kg
Seat width
56cm
Tilt-lock?
Yes
Height adjustment range
75mm
Why are gaming chairs so popular? Product placement
Product placement has been around forever at this point, yet the concept is still the same. Just make someone famous or well-liked use your product publicly.
This is probably the biggest reason gaming chair remain popular. Take a look at any popular Twitch Streamer and you’ll see them sitting on a chair from Vertagear, noblechairs, Secretlab, or any number of their competitors.
Additionally, most of the time you can’t fully see what the chair is, due to it usually being occupied, meaning that thousands of people flock to googling, asking ‘What gaming chair does x use?’. This means that many choose not to do their own research, instead choosing to assume that the product must be good if a millionaire streamer is sitting on it.
noblechairs Hero TX – Anthracite
Max load
330lbs/150kg
Adjustable backrest angle
90° to 125°
Tilt range
11°
‘Designed for gaming’
A lot of people tend to overpay for many different types of products just because it’s designed for gaming. Keyboards, mice, headsets, and many other categories can charge a premium for supposedly invaluable features.
Of course, most of these features aren’t needed to play games. Any keyboard, mouse, and chair will do, but some people don’t know that, or they’re tricked into thinking that a mouse needs a 20k+ DPI sensor, a keyboard needs a 2500Hz polling rate, or a chair needs 4D armrests.
Ultimately, none of these features are vital. Some of them are nice to have, but your ability to enjoy games isn’t, and shouldn’t be tied to overly expensive gear.
