These days, there are a lot of gadgets and accessories that can be purchased online. Thanks to cheap manufacturing costs and a wide reach online, many of these “gaming accessories” are nothing more than useless junk.
While there are definitely some gadgets that can massively improve your gaming experience and have over time become “essential”, we’ll be taking a look at some gaming accessories that you should consider skipping.
Third-Party Controllers
Before you panic and raise an eyebrow as to why third-party controllers are useless, hear us out.
A majority of the time, it's best to just stick with the first-party controller that comes stock with the console. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo often do just fine with providing you with a controller that does the job. After breaking a controller or having it wear down over time, most people tend to go back and buy an official first-party controller.
Not only that, they “just work” seamlessly with the console. Yes, they may be a little pricier, but you really get what you pay for. They’re just simply optimized and designed to be used with the console, and game developers almost expect you to be using a typical controller anyway.
There are certainly many decent third-party controllers that offer features and capabilities that typical controllers can’t. Mainly with PlayStation and Xbox, you can get some third-party controllers from big-name brands that offer enhanced grips, alternative vibration features, and so on.
It’s just more likely that down the road these controllers are going to have issues since they are not as widely used as official controllers. With third-party controllers, there are also tons of cheap ones that will almost certainly fail you, leading you to spend more.
You’ll especially notice with Nintendo that there are tons of controllers for consoles like the Wii or Switch that are absolutely a waste of time, from swords to cooking pans.
Controller Covers
Another virtually useless accessory is the controller cover. Not to be confused with decals, these are often made of silicone or some other type of rubber and are designed to protect and add some sort of grip to the controller.
While they may be useful with young children, controller covers not only make your controller look ugly, but they also can make holding the controller a messy experience. The ironic part is that they’re meant to protect your controller from damage and grime - a lot of the gunk gets stuck inside it anyways.
Another issue you may find is that it can make your hands feel sticky, particularly with the cheap super-rubbery ones.
Gaming Gloves
Gloves for playing video games, yes that’s right.
Gaming gloves are intended to protect your hands from all the “hard work” of gaming and add some sort of grip. Yikes.
Let’s be honest, depending on whatever you’re playing there’s an overwhelming chance that your hands aren’t going to get torn up and form calluses. Also, if you need some extra grip while gaming then maybe consider getting some thumb grips for your controller.
You’ll really only see gaming gloves used when people are playing racing games and using a steering wheel controller, but even then it’s only if you’re taking it super seriously. Gaming gloves may also be used by extreme PC esports professionals who play non-stop and require some protection for their hands due to the dragging on the table.
Other than that, some people may just do it for the image.
Over-the-top keyboards
There are definitely a lot of keyboards that have so many unnecessary features that end up getting forgotten about.
Think back to the keyboard your parents may have had back in 2009 on the family computer. Chances are it had lots of buttons around the top; sending emails, an internet button, “chat” buttons and so on.
Sounds great and all, but as you know, these types of keyboards have ultimately died out by now. And chances are, you never really used the buttons in the first place and continued to use your computer and open up programs like normal.
Nowadays, a lot of companies looking to earn a buck end up making really ridiculous keyboards with the same amount of buttons that are just never going to get used or even work at all.
Conclusion
So to sum everything up, if you’re thinking about improving your gaming experience and getting some extra gear - it would be best to avoid anything that provides little value or provides minimal difference.
If you are thinking of buying certain third-party controllers, controller covers, gaming gloves or keyboards with an excess amount of buttons and features then maybe think again and reconsider getting something better.
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