Playseat Evolution Gaming Seat

by Playseat

Product Features

• High-tech chair for racing video games puts you in the middle of the excitement
• Adjustable to almost every game console/computer and steering wheel
• Just install separately available game steering wheel and pedals
• Reinforced steel tubular construction eliminates excess wobble; folds for storage
• Measures 52.1 x 19.7 x 38.6 inches (L x H x W)

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B003A4IFV4
• Product Dimensions: 55 x 22 x 40 inches ; 44 pounds
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: February 1, 2010
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (140 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,663 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Color: Black Alcantara

The Playseat Alcantara Evolution provides dynamic gaming and racing capability with ultimate comfort and style to boot! Reinforced steel tube framework eliminates excess wobble and allows for easy slide of the framework for adjustment. Fully compatible with most steering wheel/pedal sets currently on the market, including key next-gen sets such as Logitech’s G25 or G27 & Xbox360’s Wireless Wheel set. Adjusts at three points to accommodate gamers of a wide range of heights and sizes. The seat is featured in a high quality ultra-suede / alcantara material for longer wear and tear. Compatible with Playstation2, Playstation3, Xbox, Xbox 360, Wii, and all computer game platforms. Also compatible with most console and PC steering wheel and pedal sets on the market. The seat features a patented foldable racing seat with fully adjustable silver or black-coated steel framework. The seat is upholstered with high quality Alcantara material, which has an appearance and tactile feel of the material that is similar to that of suede. The seat also features Black patches, black grommets and full double white stitching and Playseat logo in headrest and on side panels. Specifications features assembled measurement of (LxWxH) 130x50x98 cm/ 51x20x39 inches and net weight of 19.8 kg/ 43.65 lbs. Recommend for ages 14+.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An expensive attachment, but does exactly what it sets out to do, June 30, 2007

By 

O (NY) - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Playseat Evolution Gaming Seat (White with Silver) (Video Game)

Racing games need a wheel, and wheels need to be fixed to something steady. I missed playing racing games because the standard controllers just do not fit the bill. The good news is that the seat is allowing me to rediscover racing games.

Despite being 6ft3 200+ lbs the seat is comfortable; I can even slide my 6 year old in, and play with him steering and me on the pedals. Both the pedals and steering wheel attachments are adjustable with its max range out of the comfortable reach of my legs. If anything, they should make it work for smaller folks like my 6 year old, who cannot reach the pedals. He is 4ft, I expect you need to be at least 4ft6. The seat folds, but think twice if you want it to pack away discreetly in a tight corner; in this regard the manufacturer's photos are accurate. The only thing that I would really add are channels to enable the wires to be discreetly routed; with just 3 cables for the wheel, it still looks like a mess of spaghetti. The steering wheel attachment could be a bit stiffer, but I do not notice this when playing. They also include loads of Velcro and ties to keep things attached. Bottom line, if you like racing games, and want to treat yourself, this seat will fit the bill.

83 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hardly justifies its cost, September 14, 2009

By 

Donovan "Gamer" (Macomb, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Playseat Evolution Gaming Seat (Sports)

I bought my Playseats Evolution Gaming Seat back in 2007 around the time that Forza 2 came out for the Xbox 360. I also purchased the Microsoft Xbox 360 wireless racing wheel. I also own a PlayStation 3 and a Logitech Driving Force Pro wheel that I have used with the seat.

I can't recommend this seat for the following reasons:

1. The included "seat" that gets mounted to the whole thing is very cheap and not even close to a real car seat. It comes "folded up" and you basically unfold the back section. Because of this, there is a metal rod that runs across right where my backbone hits the chair. Since this is a "cheap" chair, it does not have very good lumbar support and after a few races my back really begins to feel the metal rod.

2. The steering wheel mount is designed to pivot up and down, but it is very hard to get the bolt tight enough to keep it from pivoting up and down when you're actually using the seat. Occasionally you'll have to yank up on your wheel to pull this mount back into position.

3. Wheel support & Nickle and Diming. The Xbox 360 racing wheel I purchased with the seat didn't mount well and I had to hack together a solution using some foam material (craft store) and particle board. Eventually I made it work. Since I bought my seat, I see that Playseats has introduced a 360 wheel mount solution (for extra money) as well as seat rail sliders, stick shift holders, etc. For $300 all of this stuff should be included. Especially with how low quality the seat actually is.

The Xbox 360 pedals work fine w/ the pedal mount if you jam them back under the lip which causes some scuffing and wear to the pedals. The Logitech Driving Force Pro wheel works well with the steering wheel mount but there is no reasonable way to attach the pedals. I don't believe zip-ties and velcro are an acceptable mounting solution (though PLENTY are included).

4. This may come down to personal taste, but, the between the legs design results in a very flimsy, unstable feel to the whole thing.

As some other reviewers have mentioned, I also wondered if I received a "used" product. My box was very badly damaged (but everything inside was okay).

If you can pick this up for $150-200 and are willing to put some work into it (replacing/fixing the seat rod issue, welding the steering wheel mount so it doesn't pivot, etc) then it might be a decent value.

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!, August 25, 2007

By 

D. Storm "Maxim Ghost" (Lake Forest, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Playseat Evolution Gaming Seat (Black with Silver) (Video Game)

I use this with my XBox 360 wheel for both Forza 2 and PGR3. You'll never go back to using a stupid desk or fold-up table like I did after using a chair like this.

I have hard tiled floor, no carpeting, no padding. If I pay attention during transition periods between game play, the stem is a little wobbly but when I'm deep into racing and throwing my body every which way, I don't notice the wobble. I suppose if I want super solid stem, I could have paid for a $1000+ unit from a competitor. Not me! I'd rather save it for my next "necessity" ... three-panel set-up for my Forza 2! Bottom line -- GREAT value ... unless you have alot of free time to make your own rig.

One more thing, the mounting bracket sucks if you have a Microsoft XBox 360 Wheel. That's because the metal mounting panel is too small for this wheel. If you don't have any wood panel scraps in your garage, you'll need to make a trip to the local hardware store ... cut yourself a 8" by 18" panel from half-inch thick particle wood board, drill a couple of holes for bolting onto the pre-drilled holes in the metal mounting panel and then use some plastic cable ties to strap in the wheel to your wood board in addition to using the flimsy mounting clamp on the bottom of the 360 wheel. Shouldn't take more than half an hour to do even if you're sub-par at carpentry skills ... I'm a geek software programmer and it was a breeze for me (but then, I was highly motivated to get the set up done so I could start racing ASAP Forza 2 in style).

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Edit (Feb 8, 2008):

I ended up getting a Logitech G25 wheel + 6-spead shifter so that I could practice manual shifting on "GTR 2: Realism Redefined" using my new gaming PC on the same LCD TV that I use for my XBox 360. Turned out that attaching the G25 wheel to the Evo mount panel was MUCH simpler than attaching the XBox 360 wheel.

The Evo has pre-drilled holes that line up with the bottom of your G25 wheel platform and your G25 pedal platform, though you will have to offset the Evo pedal panel mount quite a bit to the left (from the perspective of a sitting position) to where it's strange looking but not impractical from a functional standpoint.

If you have a G25, look into buying the additional Playseat Evo attachment for the G25 shifter. I don't think Amazon sells it ... I ended up getting that attachment from MaxWho.com.

I never drove with manual transmission in real life so I can't tell you how legit the Playseat + G25 shifter arrangement is. But a friend of mine who track races and is into the street culture scene tried it out and said it was pretty close to reality. He ended up "testing" my set up for hours ... I had to kick him out because it was getting to be past my bed time!

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