The Top 5 Video Game Chairs You Can Actually Afford

Video games represent a great way to escape the real world. The depth of your escape depends on a lot of things, like the power of your gaming machine, the resolution of your TV or monitor, and the sound quality of the speakers. The better your equipment, the more you can immerse yourself in the game.

Video game chairs are a great way to add another dimension of realism to your video games. Depending on the amount of money you have to spend, you can go completely nuts and get a chair costing over $40,000 like the NovelQuest Emperor 200 and make all your gamer friends eternally jealous. However, if your budget is more main street and less Wall Street, you'll want to get something that rocks that won't require you to knock over any liquor stores. With that in mind, here are my picks for the top five video game chairs under $500.

5) X Cooper Wireless Game Rocker Chair. This rocker is a little light on padding, but should be fine for the younger crowd. It has an intuitive control panel that sits on the right hand side just below where you sit so that you can adjust the volume and bass without getting up.

This chair can tilt and swivel and is wireless, which is nice because you can put it anywhere in the room to give yourself the best view of the screen. It has flat-field(FF) speakers that provide pretty good overall sound with a thumping bass.

The chair is upholstered in vinyl and has flame-resistant padding. A little uncomfortable for a large adult, this chair is a good buy for kids and teens at $160(to get this price, click here).

4) Free Play Wireless Game Pad. If you already have a chair you like but just want to add video game functionality to it, this is the perfect solution. This pad has five game synchronized vibrators, stereo speakers, and a rechargeable battery.

Unlike many gaming chairs, the Free Play supports consoles, AND PCs, meaning you can switch it from a family room where you have your console and home theater hooked up to your computer chair when you play PC games. You could even put in your car and hook it up to a handheld system(as long as you're not driving!!).

For only $99, the Free Play is a great buy at the manufacturer's website.

3) Repose E1000 Entertainment Chair. This high tech piece of furniture has a sleek, modern look to it and is made of top-grade materials. It has adjustable volume, bass, and tweeter controls, a cup holder, game-synchronized vibration(via the speakers), and can be linked with other E1000s when playing multiplayer games.

The sound on this chair is awesome. With the subwoofer being set in the seat, it provides a powerful tactile experience with bass frequency sounds. It is supremely comfortable, and you will probably want to sit in it for more than gaming. If you ever need to get it out of the way, it folds up for easy storage. You can get this amazing chair for $416.99(with free shipping) here.

2) Brookstone Deluxe Home Theater Recliner. Using a wireless speaker system that is set into the headrest, you can do something in this chair that you are unable to in most video game chairs: Recline.

Sure, there are plenty of pulse-pounding, non-stop excitement games that have you on the edge of your seat the entire time you play, but not all games are like that. Just because a game is not high intensity does not mean that you shouldn't be able to enjoy the experience of a video game chair.

Soft and comfortable, this recliner provides synchronized audio vibrations and a cup holder. Consider this a video game chair for the adult who likes to enjoy his video games the same way he or she enjoys a fine wine: Relaxed and in comfort. It costs $399 at Brookstone's website.

1) Xzipit Video Game Rocker. A wireless video game chair that allows you to customize the appearance by choosing interchangeable logos from sports teams, EA Sports video games, or even custom logos, you can make this chair as personal as you want it.

It comes with an adjustable headrest, two side pockets, built in speakers, and bass and volume controls. It swivels 360 degrees and is wireless with a range of up to 150 feet(though I'm not sure why you want to be 150 feet away from a screen when playing video games).

Unlike some video game chairs that sport a team name or other logo, the Xzipit logos can be unzipped and changed with any other panels. Your team sucking bad this year? Want to jump on the bandwagon of a hot team? Change the logo. You can order this chair from the company's website for $349 here.

Tired of that lumpy couch or broken down chair that you've been sitting on while gaming? Get rid of it and get something that looks cool and lets you experience your games on a whole different level.