10 Tricked Out Gaming Accessories
If you are a casual gamer, you probably own a controller or two but you don't own one of these 10 Tricked Out Gaming Accessories. If you are a hardcore gamer, you likely will have bought a specialty controller, a carrying case, and maybe a charging dock. However, really hardcore gamers go even further, dropping thousands of dollars on specialty gaming paraphernalia, perhaps just to show them off. These are 10 Tricked Out Gaming Accessories, that are downright cool and give you tons of geek cred with your friends. We’d like to meet the person who is willing to drop the tens of thousands of dollars to own all of these at once!
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Projectors
If you have a couple hundred dollars to blow and a white wall in your house, you might want to consider getting a projector. Relatively cheap lag free projectors can be found pretty easily these days and, if you have a decent speaker system to back it up, there’s nothing quite like playing video games on the big screen. It’s a perfect addition to any man cave and one of the coolest Tricked Out Gaming Accessories.
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Console Arcade Cabinets
Dedicated do-it-your-selfers love to turn their normal gaming setup into an old-school arcade cabinet, and it’s not even that hard. Perhaps the most difficult part of the whole process is building the cabinet itself. However, wiring up the controls to your console is literally just taking the top panel from a Madcatz Tournament Edition stick, or something similar, screwing it to a piece of wood, and then attaching the USB to your console that is stuck inside the cabinet.
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VR Goggles
Hello Oculus Rift! When two dimensions just aren’t enough for you, go for three. Granted, not every gaming system has the luxury of having a built in parallax 3D screen like the 3DS. So for the rest of our gaming pleasure there is the Oculus Rift, which sits snug on our head and shows us two different images in order to put together a 3D picture. It’s not quite virtual reality yet, but it is getting pretty damn close!
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Gaming Treadmills
Speaking of getting pretty damn close to virtual reality, if you have a whole bunch of money burning a hole in your pocket, consider picking up the Virtuix Omni or any other number of gaming treadmills. If you were a kid of the '90s, you remembered the early versions of these devices which were usually showcased at amusement parks. They transfer your normal walking into a digital signal in order to increase the immersion of a virtual reality environment. They still have some bugs to work out, however, and simply walking too far may cause you to trip and fall off the treadmill, but it sure is a gaming accessory you can brag about to your friends!
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Head Trackers
Continuing on the topic of virtual reality, a key element of virtual reality gaming is head tracking software. However, you don’t need to drop a bunch of money to be able to develop a head tracker. Many programmers have used Wii homebrew software to turn the Wiimote into a head tracking device. Of course, then you will have to duct-tape a Wiimote to your head...
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Wiimote Power Glove
If you don’t feel like taping a Wiimote to your head, consider taping it to your hand. Many users have decided to convert their wand style game controllers into old-school style power-gloves. This has also been done with the PlayStation Move! In the words of Lucas from The Wizard, “I love the power glove, it’s so bad!” What’s a better Tricked Out Gaming Accessory than something that literally lets you wear your game controller?
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Controllers That Are Also a Game Console
No, we aren’t talking about those cheap knockoff controllers that play fifty games that look an awful lot like NES games. We are talking about real modern day controllers that are built directly into the console they are controlling. Or perhaps modern day controllers that double as a console from times past. It might get a little hot on your lap, but it’s hard to deny the cool factor of a joystick made out of an Xbox 360.
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Replacement Touch Screens
Having problems controlling your DS? Well, don’t worry because dropping a couple hundred dollars will get you a conversion kit that lets you change your DS or 3DSes touch screen into a modern day capacitive touch screen, just like mobile phones use. You can also enable multi-touch function, though no 3DS software would be able to use it. This is one of those tricked out mods that only homebrewers can really appreciate.
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Metal Dance Pads
If you are a rhythm game enthusiast, having a crappy plastic dance mat just won’t do. Instead, you probably splurged for the full metal DDR stage. Back when DDR was one of the most popular games on the market, these 200 dollar plus dance mats were the special order item of the day. Heck, some people even trick them out with extra floor speakers and multi-colored lights! It’s about all you can do to recreate the DDR arcade experience without splurging on a full arcade cabinet.
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LED Arcade Sticks
The #1 entry on our list of 10 Tricked Out Gaming Accessories is not the most expensive tricked out accessory, but perhaps the most common tricked out accessory. Any serious fighting gamer has an arcade stick, but really serious fighting gamers start to mod the stick. A dual mod that allows your stick to be used on both consoles is just the beginning. Soon you’ll be programming and hard wiring in extra button macros, alternative control schemes, wireless functionality, and much, much more. Perhaps the most impressive feat of soldiering is this -- the LED Arcade Stick, with buttons that light up when you push them. Some fans have even developed their stick so that they flack different colors depending on what special move they are using.