Can a New Chair Make Me Better At Racing Games?
Despite the fact that I take every available opportunity to write about video games on The News Wheel, I’ve focused very little on driving games. That’s because, despite the nature of my job and general fondness for the medium, I’m absolutely terrible at them.
I recently purchased a gaming chair from GTRACING, so I’ve decided to perform an experiment. My goal is to scientifically evaluate whether or not this race car-inspired throne can improve my performance in car games.
Drive fast, strong, and clean: The 2022 GMC Hummer EV
Methodology
I’ve selected three games to be played across three platforms: Forza Horizon 3 for Xbox One (a good game I’m terrible at), Need for Speed Payback for PlayStation 4 (a game I’ve never played), and Need for Speed Hot Pursuit for Playstation 3 (A game I played a fair amount on mobile years ago, but have little experience with on consoles).*
Next, I will select a race or segment from each title and play them three times while seated in the seemingly brandless and thoroughly decrepit desk chair I’ve had since 2013. Then, I’ll play them three more times from my brand-new GTRACING chair.
I’ll take careful note of my place/clear-time for every race and calculate an average based on all three attempts for each game, in each chair. Then, I’ll compare the results and reach a conclusion.
Predictions
While it’s not necessarily a good idea to approach a “scientific” endeavor with expectations as to the result, I think this exercise is silly enough to warrant at least one rule-break. If I had to guess what will happen when I calculate the outcome of this little experiment, I’d say there isn’t a chair on this planet that can save my dismal digital driving abilities.
If you’re interested, you can check out the results right here!
Need a quick tune-up?: Trust the pros
*A previous version of this article listed the third game I would test as Watch Dogs for PC. Due to tech issues, I replaced it with Need for Speed Hot Pursuit.
<– This is what Aaron actually looks like.
Aaron was born in a suburb of Toledo, Ohio and has managed to traverse most of the state between college and various shenanigans. Having majored in video game development and minored in film studies, he is a considerable fan of both forms of media. Additionally, he is available to explain why Mad Max: Fury Road is one of the best feminist films of all time at the drop of a hat. His aspirations include — but are not limited to — not accidentally adopting any more cats and developing a responsible sleep schedule. See more articles by Aaron.