Thursday, September 16th 2021
IKEA is Finally Ready to Sell You its ASUS ROG Co-branded Gear
Just over a year ago, IKEA and Asus teased that they were working on something together and from October, you'll actually be able to buy the first products. There will be more than 30 new products in total, ranging from "gaming" desks and chairs, to key "gaming" accessories like mug holders and neck pillows.
It's highly likely that the pandemic has delayed these products, since they launched in China back in January, but now it seems like stock should be arriving globally. In total, there will be six product families, although the press release doesn't go into detail of what product is in each product category. The six families are UPPSPEL, LÅNESPELARE, MATCHSPEL, GRUPPSPEL, UTESPELARE, HUVUDSPELARE, which pretty much are all borrowed from various football (soccer to our American readers) terms in Swedish.
IKEA estimates that there are no less than 2.5 billion gamers globally and they obviously want a slice of the gaming cake. The most amusing part of the press release from IKEA, are the quotes from Asus. How some furniture can be exciting gaming innovations is a bit hard to imagine, but we're sure Asus knows a lot about gamers pain points, based on how angular some of their gaming products are. Note that some of the products appear to be in stock already, so if you're interested, try searching your local IKEA website for the product names above.
Update: It turns out IKEA has some nicer products in the lineup that will arrive early next year, including a chair with real grain leather that's priced at around US$350 in Sweden, but that price includes 25 percent VAT. The only thing we'd like to see are some more adjustments on these chairs, as they still seem to have fairly basic adjustments, even at this price point. The pictures of the additional products are above.
Source:
IKEA
It's highly likely that the pandemic has delayed these products, since they launched in China back in January, but now it seems like stock should be arriving globally. In total, there will be six product families, although the press release doesn't go into detail of what product is in each product category. The six families are UPPSPEL, LÅNESPELARE, MATCHSPEL, GRUPPSPEL, UTESPELARE, HUVUDSPELARE, which pretty much are all borrowed from various football (soccer to our American readers) terms in Swedish.
"Gamers globally know and love the Republic of Gamers brand and they trust it to deliver the most exciting gaming innovations in the market," says Kris Huang, General Manager of the ASUS Gaming Gear and Accessory Business Unit. "Our new partnership with the experts at IKEA will allow Republic of Gamers to find new and interesting ways to delight gamers in and around the home."
"We know a lot about gamer needs, pain points and expectations, and we want to design solutions for ultimate, immersive gaming experiences." - says Johnny Chan, Asus Republic of Gamers designer.
Update: It turns out IKEA has some nicer products in the lineup that will arrive early next year, including a chair with real grain leather that's priced at around US$350 in Sweden, but that price includes 25 percent VAT. The only thing we'd like to see are some more adjustments on these chairs, as they still seem to have fairly basic adjustments, even at this price point. The pictures of the additional products are above.
56 Comments on IKEA is Finally Ready to Sell You its ASUS ROG Co-branded Gear
ROG is neither of the above, I'm curious to see final availability and pricing because (as much as it would be nice to be proved wrong) I suspect availability will be poor and/or limited whilst the ROG branding will add significantly to the cost, ruining the original value proposition of IKEA furniture in the first place.
The price difference is almost $50.
None of the products appear to have actual ROG branding on them, just the general weird patterns/characters that some ROG products have as a design language.
On the brighter side, the good old CPU stand is back and it can be yours for less than $20 :roll:
IKEA is freaking amazing, especially since I am poor LOL
PLAYBACK, LOAN PLAYER, MATCH GAME, GROUP GAME, OUTDOOR PLAYER, MAIN PLAYER,
IKEA chairs are hit and miss. If the quality is up to scratch those two leather options could be decent choices for cooler regions. I'm guessing those living in hotter climates don't enjoy sticking to their furniture :D
The unknown factor in all this is how much the ROG tax is, I guess we'll know once reviewers have had a chance to put them through their paces.
I wish them luck on selling me anything seeing I'm not a member lol
I feel more comfortable sitting in my expensive office chair.
Anyways on topic, when do they hit retail?
I am more than capable of my own off-gassing (both ends).
"In May 2006, The Economist magazine estimated that the parent organization's foundation's endowment was worth US$36 billion, making it the world's wealthiest charity at the time; however, it also stated that the foundation "is at the moment also one of its least generous. The overall set-up of IKEA minimises tax and disclosure, handsomely rewards the founding Kamprad family and makes IKEA immune to a takeover".
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IKEA
Most things appear to go on sale next month, with a few of the nicer things in January.