Gaming peripherals: can gamers live without them?
If you’re an FPS gamer, you would know how important having the right gun is in a particular scenario. You wouldn’t take on hundreds of enemies at close range with a sniper rifle, and unless you have some form of explosive, you wouldn’t take on a tank.
The same can be said for those with a taste for racing games. Would you rock up to a quarter mile with a go-kart, or would you instead opt for some American V8 muscle running more NOS than petrol?
How about our resident RTS gamers, how much easier is your life once you’ve assigned certain unit groups to specific hotkeys? All of a sudden you can react quicker to enemy attacks, and co-ordinate your own troops far more effectively.
These are just some of the situations gamers face every day, and having the right equipment means doing well. So why not focus on the equipment you use to game?
RTS gamers
Annoyed at having to scroll across the map? Have a strategy that requires groups of units to attack at certain times rather than just rushing in and hoping for the best? You need a gaming keyboard. Having easy access to programmable action keys allows greater control over the game, and allows you to act and react to situations far quicker.
FPS gamers
Find yourself losing out on close combat kills? Need extra precision when filling the role of sniper? A gaming mouse might be the peripheral for you. Side mouse buttons allow you to respond at the flick of a thumb. Using a keyboard shortcut for knifing is great and all, but assigning two tasks to one finger when your mouse-hand thumb is neglected is very inefficient. Then there’s the issue of accuracy. Gaming mouses often support dpi switching, allowing you to select more speed for AOE or rapid fire weapons, or greater accuracy when it’s time to pull out the sniper rifle.
Racing and flight simulator gamers
You’d be hard pressed to find a gamer in these categories that won’t benefit from using dedicated gaming peripherals. A good racing wheel or joystick is considered standard for anyone who takes these types of games seriously.
Competitive advantages aside, games also become the immersive, entertaining experience they were meant to be, especially the specialist simulators, when you have the right gear. Driving simulators such as Grand Turismo 5 work hard to provide you with an accurate experience. Everything from car dimensions to handling and engine tone are carefully meshed together to provide you with a near to life experience. All of which is ruined the second you pick up a controller and remind yourself that you’re just gaming on a console.
Unfortunately, upgrading your peripherals is a costly exercise. R600 on a gaming mouse, R1200 on a keyboard, nearly R3000 on a racing wheel with all the bells and whistles; how can a peripheral justify the same price tag as a new graphics card, motherboard or CPU? The answer is simple, longevity.
A graphics card needs to be upgraded on average every year and a half to two years, a CPU can push three before things really get bad, and RAM… well we can never have enough RAM. But a mouse? Five years isn’t unheard of, and the same goes for a decent keyboard. As for a racing wheel, as long as it works properly, would you ever need to replace it?
While you don’t need expensive peripherals to enjoy gaming, having the right tools for the job will put a smile on your face every time. The advantage dedicated peripherals give you, coupled with greater enjoyment of the game and the longevity of the hardware far outweighs the cost.
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