Best Accessories for Gaming Consoles
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1. Gamepads and Controllers
The gamepad is the most obvious accessory, without which it is difficult to imagine console games. If you need a universal option, the official controller from Sony or Microsoft is a reliable choice. But if you want more, it is worth taking a closer look at advanced options like the DualSense Edge, Xbox Elite, Asus Raikiri Pro or Razer Wolverine.
Top-end gamepads offer advanced features, including additional programmable buttons, improved button mechanisms, durable Hall-effect sensor sticks, improved triggers with adjustable travel, and other goodies.
However, the gaming manipulator market is not limited to gamepads. Fans of racing simulators rarely do without a quality steering wheel with pedals, which provides full control over a sports car. Some, of course, try to play racing simulators on a gamepad, but if you want real, realistic sensations, then the best choice would be a quality steering wheel with pedals - like the Logitech G29 or Logitech G923, as well as the Logitech G920. Or something like the ThrustMaster T-GT II, if your budget allows. And fans of flight simulators will certainly appreciate HOTAS systems (Hands On Throttle and Stick), like the Thrustmaster Warthog or Logitech X56, which add realism to aircraft control. Although, it is worth noting that the choice of car and flight simulators on consoles is not as wide as on PC, and many control kits are tailored to a specific version of the console, such as PS4 or Xbox One.
2. Headphones
A gaming headset is one of the most useful accessories for consoles, especially if team communication and high-quality audio are important. Built-in TV speakers rarely transmit spatial sound, and a headset with virtual 3D support, such as the Sony Pulse 3D or SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro, will allow you to better navigate the gaming. In addition, a high-quality microphone is important for communication in team shooters and co-op games, and wireless models provide more freedom without the risk of getting tangled in wires.
When choosing a headset, it's worth considering compatibility: the same wired models with a 3.5 mm jack can work on PlayStation and Xbox, but wireless headsets are usually tied to the platform. It's also important to pay attention to comfort during long-term use - breathable ear pads and an adjustable headband will help avoid fatigue. And, of course, it's worth considering battery life if you choose a wireless model: the longer the battery life, the better.
3. Game Streaming Gadgets
Shooting iron dinosaurs with a bow or running around Night City, lounging on a comfortable sofa with a Steam Deck in your hands - this is the peak of human evolution, nothing will be better. However, the market does not stand still and after the resounding success of Steam Deck, Sony presented an alternative solution called PS Portal. This is something like a hybrid of the DualSense gamepad with an 8-inch screen mounted in the center and a built-in Wi-Fi 6 receiver, with which you can remotely play games from the PS5 or the cloud.
In turn, the current generation of Xbox consoles has support for the Remote Play function, which allows you to stream games from the console to mobile devices or PCs, but this method is significantly inferior to PS Portal in terms of convenience, as it suffers from noticeable delays and limitations in image quality, especially with weak internet.
4. Docking Stations
Charging docks for gamepads are a useful accessory that eliminates the need to connect controllers to the console with a cable. They allow you to charge two gamepads at once, save space, and make the gaming space tidier. In addition to official solutions such as the Sony DualSense Charging Station and Xbox Play & Charge Kit, the market is full of alternative options from third-party manufacturers that may be even more convenient.
For example, the Razer Quick Charging Stand and NexiGo PS5 Controller Charger offer compact and stylish solutions for the DualSense with fast charging and LED indicators. For Xbox, popular models from PowerA, Venom, and Snakebyte include rechargeable batteries that replace standard batteries. When choosing, pay attention to the connection type (via contacts on the dock or USB C) and the presence of a power adapter in the package. It is also important to consider whether the accessory supports overheating and overcharging protection to extend the life of the batteries.
5. Televisions and Monitors
When it comes to choosing a screen for your console, there are several factors to consider that can affect the comfort and quality of your gaming experience. If you prefer to play from the couch on a big screen, a TV will be more convenient. Moreover, most even inexpensive panels support 4K, 120 Hz, HDMI 2.1, and VRR. As for the matrix, OLED is the best option, but high-quality LED panels will also do.
Monitors tend to have lower input lag, which is why they are preferable for hardcore fans of shooters and other dynamic genres. By today's standards, the best option would be a monitor with a diagonal of at least 32 ", a resolution of 2K/4K, a refresh rate of 144 Hz, a response time of around 3 ms (or less), and support for FreeSync/G-Sync. As with streaming, this is a fairly complex topic and we already had a large text on it.
6. Additional Storage Devices
Despite the fact that current-generation consoles are equipped with fairly capacious storage devices, games are now quite large, and part of the memory is occupied by the system and caching. An additional SSD drive can solve this problem. For example, the PS5 supports the installation of an additional SSD of the M.2 2280 format with PCI-E 4.0 support and a minimum read speed of 5500 MB/s. This is an important condition so that the second SSD does not lag behind the pre-installed one in speed. To make life easier for users, such options are usually marked " PS5 Ready ".
The Xbox has a slightly different story: Series X/S supports its own memory expansion cards (from Seagate or WD) with a PCI-E Gen 4 interface. On the one hand, such a card is easily and quickly integrated into the system, on the other hand, the cost per gigabyte of memory is higher than that of traditional M.2 SSDs.
Unlike classic M.2 SSDs with PCI-E interface, most portable solid-state drives with USB connection are limited to speeds from 1000 to 2000 MB/s, so they are more suitable for storing a gaming library, but not for running games. As for external HDDs, they should only be considered by owners of previous generations of PS4 and Xbox One, since modern games are designed for much higher read speeds, which is why they may simply not have time to load textures into memory, and the gameplay may noticeably slow down.
7. Streaming Devices
For a number of reasons, streaming from consoles is a fairly complex topic that deserves its own article. To put it simply, the key element is a video capture device(such as the Aver Media Live Gamer and Elgato Game Capture HD60) that transmits the audio and video stream from the console to the PC, which can then be streamed to Twitch or YouTube. Unfortunately, unlike PCs, consoles do not support direct streaming to PCs without the use of such “cheats.”
A quality camera is no less important. To stream from PS5, you need to either use the official PlayStation Camera or connect an external camera to your PC. In this case, the stream from the console is transmitted through a capture device, and processing and broadcasting take place on the PC. On Xbox Series S/X, the situation is simpler: streaming cameras can be connected directly via USB, without the need for a PC to transfer video. As for the microphone, lighting and additional accessories like the Elgato Stream Deck, this is a topic for a separate article.
8. Virtual Reality
Despite the fact that virtual reality has remained a completely niche thing, developers continue to break this rock, slowly moving the market forward. For example, following the PS5, Sony released the second version of its virtual reality headset PS VR2 with an OLED display, HDR support, a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz and eye tracking. The headset comes with specialized Sense controllers with a built-in haptic feedback system and adaptive triggers in the style of DualSense. And there is a lot to play - from exclusives like Horizon Call of the Mountain to VR adaptations of popular titles, including Resident Evil Village and ports from other platforms, like Half-Life: Alyx.
Unfortunately, there is no official VR support on the Xbox Series X/S, and instead of announcing its own headset, Microsoft announced a partnership with Meta, which resulted in VR support appearing in the Gamepass cloud service. Users who are not embarrassed by this kind of crutches, most often recommend either a more recent and advanced version of the Oculus Quest 3 headset or a more affordable option in the form of the Oculus Quest 2 to pair with the Xbox. The latter is often sold at good discounts.
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