Ikea's new gaming line with Asus ROG is a mix of affordable greatness and the truly bizarre
Get ready to frag enemies from the comfort of your Uppsepel
Ikea has pretty much mastered the art of affordable home and office furniture and accessories. So there's little doubt that some of it has found a place in gamer setups already, but gaming is hardly a core competency for the company.
Fortunately, Ikea realized that it's dangerous to go alone, so it partnered with Asus ROG on some of its new gaming lineup coming this fall that includes desks, chairs and a variety of accessories (via SlashGear).
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The new lineup is shipping now in China and will be launching next in Japan, but should be available globally in October. Price estimates are all based on the exchange rate, so they will likely differ somewhat from the final retail prices.
Ikea gaming desks
Ikea will offer a trio of desks, including the height-adjustable Uppsepel desk that is the product of the partnership with Asus ROG. Beyond the motorized sit/stand functionality, it also offers a USB Type-A charging port on the control panel and built-in cable management trays in back. That desk will be available starting at 3,799 yuan ($556) for the smaller 55 x 31.5-inch model or 3,999 yuan ($586) for the larger 71 x 31.5-inch model.
If that's a little too pricey for you the Utespelare at 599 yuan ($88) gives you a more affordable manual sit/stand option with a cable management tray and a mesh cover to provide better airflow. Cheaper still is the Huvudspelare at just 219 yuan ($32), but that is pretty much just a standard desk/table. Both feature a matte black finish to avoid reflections and glare.
Ikea gaming chairs
There are three chairs in the gaming lineup, the Huvudspelare, the Utespelare and the Matchspel, which will go for 299 yuan ($46), 699 yuan ($102) and 999 yuan ($146) respectively. The cheapest features a simple black fabric seat and mesh back with red arms, and offers height and tilt adjustments.
The Utespelare is a pretty significant step up, this is again part of the ROG partnership, it upgrades you to a "leather-like" upholstery with a crossed pattern. It'll be available in either black with blue accents or grey with white accents. The padded arms look more comfortable and it adds a mesh pocket to the back. Along with height and tilt adjustments you have safety castors that ensure the chair doesn't slide away when you stand up.
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At the top of the lineup is the Matchspel which offers a very clean look. It again features a "leather-like" upholstery, but it drops the mesh pocket on the back in favor of an exposed metal bar that runs all the way up to the separate headrest. Along with the height and tilt adjust this brings height adjustable arms and of course keeps the safety castors. It will be available in either white with blue accents or black with red accents.
Ikea gaming accessories
It wouldn't be Ikea without a bunch of odds and ends thrown in. Who hasn't been sitting at their gaming desk and thinking, "Why don't I have a life-size articulating wooden hand to hold some of my stuff?" Thankfully, you won't have to go without anymore as Ikea will sell you the Lanespelare accessories stand for 129 yuan ($20).
In other gaming products that you might not know you needed. For just 149 yuan ($23) the Lanespelare multi-functional cushion/blanket changes from a pillow, to a blanket to a full-on onesie to help keep you comfortable while you game.
The Uppsepel line also includes a CPU stand with castors for 79 yuan ($12), a drawer unit on castors with an indented top, two drawers, a storage nook and a headset hook for 599 yuan ($88) and a glass-door cabinet for 499 yuan ($73).
It wouldn't be gaming accessories without some lighting. There's a Lanespelare ring light with a built-in phone holder for 249 yuan ($36). For color changing light options, the Ledberg 3m LED lighting strip for 199 yuan ($29) and the Spanst LED light stick can shift between seven different colors.
Sean Riley has been covering tech professionally for over a decade now. Most of that time was as a freelancer covering varied topics including phones, wearables, tablets, smart home devices, laptops, AR, VR, mobile payments, fintech, and more. Sean is the resident mobile expert at Laptop Mag, specializing in phones and wearables, you'll find plenty of news, reviews, how-to, and opinion pieces on these subjects from him here. But Laptop Mag has also proven a perfect fit for that broad range of interests with reviews and news on the latest laptops, VR games, and computer accessories along with coverage on everything from NFTs to cybersecurity and more.