One of the biggest names in PC gaming and the biggest name in home furniture have got together to create a portfolio of gaming furniture and accessories, at quite competitive prices. Last September Asus ROG and IKEA announced that they were working together and the first assortment of collaborative products has now gone online at IKEA, in China. Other countries worldwide, with an IKEA presence, will get access to these products from October onwards.
IKEA China has set up a Gaming Home page which links to the new portfolio, and luckily the site is available in English. On the page IKEA reasons that while it is “an expert in the field of home life, it is a fledgling player in the gaming industry.” To gain the necessary experience for top tier gaming furniture and accessories IKEA thus teamed up with Asus ROG.
The Asus ROG and IKEA collaboration does indeed look like it has been fruitful already. If you visit the site you will find scores of new products linked to. While some are obviously Asus ROG influenced, and definitely PC gaming accessories, others look a lot like standard IKEA fare in clothes to match the gaming desks and chairs central to any gamers’ den.
Big ticket items such as mechanical adjustable sittings/standing desks, other desks, and gaming chairs are available now. The Asus ROG influence in these black/white finished items doesn’t look huge, but the pricing is quite accessible. For example the Uppspel motorised gaming desk is listed at ¥3,999.00 Chinese Yen – that’s about £450 Sterling. A manually adjustable gaming desk is much cheaper at approx £70 equivalent. Meanwhile, the gaming chair is a reasonable ¥999 (approx £115), in black/red or white/blue accent finishes. The chair sounds suitably comfortable, adjustable, and durable.
Elsewhere in the range of products there are storage solutions in many permutations, as well as accessories like stands, lighting, and even soft furnishings (like pillows and cushions). Lastly IKEA has a promo giving out ROG styled mousemats for free on purchases over ¥1,500.
If you have flicked through the China site and some things appeal, you will have to wait quite a long time (until October) for these products to reach the rest of the world. It isn’t clear whether the Asus ROG and IKEA teams will continue to collaborate and release new wares going forward.
What will be the next PC gaming furniture collaboration? My money is on Aorus + Habitat, however MSI +DFS, or InWin + Laura Ashley would be a welcome surprises.