The Predator Thronos, Acer's bonkers behemoth gaming throne, was the highlight of the company's conference at last year's IFA tech show. It's back again this year, in pretty much an identical form, except now it's got a basic massage function built into the seat, designed to give you a bit of a rub once you're done being utterly demolished by your enemies in Fortnite.
The immense gaming chair, which has an overhead arm that supports three monitors, was a surprise hit last year. But I can only assume Acer forgot about updating it until a few days before this year's conference when someone suddenly remembered it existed and in a blind panic bought a bunch of massage chairs off Amazon, popped them inside a Thronos cover and tacked the word Air onto the product name.
Read more: Best gaming chairs we've sat in for 2019
It's otherwise the same hulking beast from last year. Sit yourself inside and you'll be immersed amid three screens and all kinds of colored lights flashing around you. The whole rig can tilt backward to give you more of an upward view, which will apparently add to the immersion.
The massage function only covers the back part of the chair and feels much the same as any of those massage covers you can stretch over an existing chair. It's essentially two balls that move up and down, pressing into your back. You can have it on while gaming, but Acer's launch video suggested it's more something to relax with after your intense fragging session.
I look forward to a similarly last-minute update to next year's Thronos, which I can only imagine will come with a foot spa, a post-gaming cucumber eye mask and a built-in playlist of whale sounds.
There's no word on pricing yet, but given that last year's Thronos starts at over $9,000, you shouldn't expect it to come cheap.
