Gaming Accessories

Gaming accessories

A broad-spectrum term that applies to a lot of devices. This covers accessories for all the different gaming platforms and consoles. Gaming accessories are designed to add more value to one's gaming lifestyle, either by providing improved control, visibility or something else that makes your systems run more efficiently.

The various options for non-portable systems

An accessory that is common among all the different platforms is a gaming headphone, this lets one better hear their game sounds as well as converse with their team and strategise depending on the game. These come with better mics, comfortable headbands and soft earcups so they are easy to wear for longer periods. A feature that is becoming very common is spatial audio, this makes a way more realistic and immersive sonic space; letting users have better directional understanding of the game environment. One can find wireless and wired options both. Pro-level gamers who stream also use a mix-amp so they can specifically configure the volume levels to suit each game along with their streaming or recording.

If one can make more noise in their space they can opt for speaker systems, these have either 2 or a lot more speakers which one can spread out for a surround sound field. Such a setup could also do with a better directional microphone that can pick up your conversation among the game sounds coming from the speakers.

In the desktop PC gaming segment one can find monitors of various kinds. These displays are available in a lot of sizes and one can choose something that fits their space better. There are also curved displays if one wants a more immersive feel for their gaming. Generally, the resolution on these monitors is from a higher-end as are the refresh rates; this makes for better gaming graphics and smoothness in movement.

For a PC the main accessories include gaming keyboards and mouses. The keyboards which are the better ones are mechanical and are built to be hardy with a very satisfying click when you press the keys. The mouses have a better formation for hand comfort, with a lot more buttons so gamers can optimise them for their style of playing or to add extra commands. Both these devices feature RGB lights to add ambience to one's gaming station. These too have the option to be wired or wireless.

In light of a different control system, one can also find controllers like the ones that come with a PlayStation that can be used with a PC. Some gamers like to have a steering wheel and pedals for their racing games, of which there are many. This kind of a setup puts buttons on the steering wheel as well so one can execute more commands. Such accessories can be found for PCs, PlayStations, X-Boxes and other platforms as well.

Gaming consoles have their own range of accessories to choose from. From better controllers that pro gamers prefer for their customisability to cameras that add gesture-based commands to your games. Certain consoles have their specific motion sensing devices for gesture controls. Some games also let you use items such as sports batons or guns that the system can sense directionality from. Gamers who like fighting games as a more prefered game genre sometimes opt for arcade-style button consoles. These let them be more aggressive with their playing and can let them button-mash without it falling apart. It also has the classic joystick from arcade games.

The ultimate gaming accessory is the new-age system that lets you incorporate Virtual Reality (VR) into your gaming setup. There are a lot of games that are built specifically for this kind of visual interaction. The VR system comes with handheld controls as well, these can map out your movements as well as the directions you point in and can be used in multiple manners as they have buttons built onto them. 

In the world of gaming, a good chair for gaming is considered an accessory as well. Many brands produce the most ergonomic chairs possible which would also qualify as great office chairs due to their high-level of design.

Aside from all the above, there are also a host of options when it comes to RGB lights. These are more about the ambience than anything else and add flavour to your gaming station's environment. This makes it seem like one is in a space ship with their peripherals as a control board. Another reason people use RGB lights is so they can have a colour wash in the room and have their display stand out more so they can focus on it better.

Accessories for portable systems

Portable gaming consoles have their own variety of accessories one can choose from. Starting at smartphones which have a lot of different controls that can be added on as playing with a touch screen can be limiting for serious gamers. There are controllers which snap onto the sides and have all the command buttons on them or some which are similar to a PlayStation or X-Box controller and the phone snaps into a cradle on top of it.

If you would like to have a keyboard-like keypad and a mouse, Android smartphones can have that too. There are dongles that let you connect a mouse and a keypad. This gives you a lot more control as well, that too in the form of interfaces most people are used to. If you want basic level game triggers to click the buttons on the screen, this is also possible. There are triggers that snap onto a smartphone and you can press them from the back of the smartphone where your fingers naturally rest when the smartphone is in landscape mode for gaming. These are common for shooting games such as PUBG.

Games are heavy, making a smartphone run at higher performances making it heat up. To circumvent this issue so your smartphone keeps performing at an optimum level one can get add-ons that have cooling fans in them. These help your device dissipate heat a lot better than it would on its own.

Comments

All these and other accessories can add to your gaming abilities, making your performance better. Which one you choose or need is a matter of what device you are using to play your games and which areas you feel you need to expand into. Apart from that, the budget is crucial as a lot of the better peripherals are costly.

There are a lot of brands that produce gaming accessories, some of the brands which produce consoles also make them but then there are also third-party vendors who do. The known names for various accessories include Sony, Microsoft, Razer, Logitech, SteelSeries, Corsair, Turtle Beach, Roccat, Mad Catz and HyperX to name some.