GUEST OPINION: Australia is a country of many hobbies, including baking, reading, gardening, and making music. Yet there's one other pastime that's particularly popular: gaming. Over four out of every five Australians are gamers, with video game use in the country growing from 67% to an astounding 81% between 2021 and 2023 alone. So, though the average gamer has 11 years of playing experience, that number is dropping as more people join in on the hobby.
If you're new to gaming yourself, there's much to acquaint yourself with. You'll have to discover what genres you like and which platform you want to use, like mobile, PC, or console. You may also be wondering what you can do to make your gaming sessions more immersive and comfortable. If so, you're in luck—there are a few great accessories you can use to enhance the gaming experience.
Gaming glasses
As their name suggests, video games are best enjoyed with your eyes. That's why you may want to use dedicated gaming glasses to further enhance your vision while you play. They're lightweight, protect you from eye strain for better comfort, and improve not just how clearly you see what's on your screen but also how well your brain processes it. Just look at what activewear brand Oakley offers with its Helux collection. Its glasses boast O-Matter frames that are durable, flexible, and sweat-resistant, on top of being lightweight. Meanwhile, the brand's Prizm Gaming 2.0 Lens Technology filters out excess blue light from your screen to provide visual comfort and sharpen your eyesight—so you notice more in-game details and react faster. Gaming glasses can do much to enhance your overall gaming experience, even when your sessions run longer.
Gaming headphones
After graphics, what makes video games immersive is the audio. Sound effects, voice acting, and music can all make or break your experience, but they won't amount to much if all that sound is bleeding out of speakers or cheap headsets. It's thus worth it to get high-quality gaming headphones. These should be durable and keep sound in while being comfortable to wear. The new wireless headphones from HyperX raise the bar for gaming use even further. Its Cloud III model offers an additional 3D audio feature: sounds will come from specific directions based on where you are in a game, meaning you can more accurately hear things like footsteps approaching from behind you even if you can't see them on screen. That makes them a great way to feel like you're in the game yourself!
A gaming mouse
The mouse you use can significantly affect your gaming performance. Compared to normal mice, a gaming mouse has higher dots per inch or DPI. That means it can improve your response time by helping your cursor move faster across the screen. Gaming mice also have more buttons. These are programmable on models like the SteelSeries Aerox 9, so you can assign them to different functional shortcuts that can streamline your gameplay. More importantly, they're ergonomic. The more you game, the more likely you are to experience wrist and hand pain. Gaming mice come in different designs, so you can easily find one that fits your grip style for better comfort as you play.
A gaming chair
Your hands and wrists aren't the only thing that can hurt after long gaming sessions. You're straining your neck and back if you're not maintaining a good posture, and that can take away from your overall gaming experience. After all, who wants to play video games while feeling discomfort or even pain? That makes gaming chairs a worthwhile investment. They support your neck and back for enhanced comfort—and without pain, you can better focus for improved performance and an uninterrupted experience. By supporting good posture, they can even boost your energy levels so you can game for longer! So don't hold back when buying one. You'll want to get chairs from industry leaders like Herman Miller, as the brand's collection takes things further with cooling seat technology. It even has the ability to support forward-leaning postures, perfect if you like to get up close and personal with your games.