Customer Reviews

Playseat Evolution Gaming Seat (Black with Silver)

5 star:		(104)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

Kinda funny how they jacked up the price from 250 bucks a month ago when I bought it. 250 was a steal for this thing. It takes about 30 min. to assemble. I have the white one and it looks killer in my living room, interests many people that come over. Very easy to slide out of the way and fold down when not in use(not heavy at all, just slide it over on the carpet). The seat is well designed and durable. The unit is solid, easy to adjust and does not rock back and forth when you play with MS wheel. The MS wheel has such powerful force feedback that you can feel it vibrate through the seat. Use the velcro supplied with the unit and the pedals and wheel wont budge at all. Essentially, if you have a nice(big) tv and this thing, and the latest racing games, you have a Dave and Buster's arcade at your disposal at any time in your own house. Enjoy.

Bought two of these seats to race my 10 year old son with his old PS2 and new XBox 360 games. Both racing wheels fit nicely and seats adjust fine for me 6'3" and my son 5'. Changing steering wheels is tedious because of the wires but the seats are incredibly great. I still can't drive a virtual car as well as my son but using a steering wheel I can at least compete. Has been great father son time indoors now that its 20 degrees outside. Buying two seats seemed expensive till my wife reminded me of the cost of the XBox originally. Solid construction and they fold and dissasemble partially for storage in a closet. they get an A+ in my book.

I purchased this seat about a week ago. It was eligible for Amazon Prime so I got it within 2 days. It comes packed nicely in about a 3x3x3 foot box, weighing 53 lbs. Assembly and setup with my MS wireless wheel took about 30 minutes.

The seat is sturdy and well built. The steel used is 1/16 in throughout and it seems that the designers spent a decent amount of time designing it for stability. I am 6'3" and weigh 250 lbs, and I have no problem in the seat. It is actually quite comfortable for up to 6 hours on forza 2. So construction wise, the seat is no less than great.

I think they could have offered more options with the setup, namely two things. First, they offer the option of offseting the pedals to the left, but not to the right. I went around that by offsetting my pedals myself. They hang a little off to the side but I have no problem with that, as I would rather brake and accelerate with the same foot. Second, I was hoping that with the evolution model the steering column and the pedals can be adjusted separately. However, you could indirectly do this by moving the whole thing away from the seat, bringing the steering column forward, and then tilting it down.

Really, the idea is similar to their Classic seat, however it is obvious that this is the less "wobbly" model because the column is shorter and less prone to torsion. The cool thing is you can disassemble the seat from the pedals and wheel, and it is quite comfy to sit it and play "other" games such as Gears of War or Shadowrun.

Finally, a note for those willing to use the MS wheel with this: Don't use the clamp provided with your wheel as it does not offer enough support. Playseats have yet to come up with an MS accessory plate, but what I would recommend is to place the wheel on the steel plate using a ton of the double sided velcro tape they provide. I have not had a single problem with it.

Durability? I have been playing Codemasters' Dirt for a while now, and I have to say if the seat and setup can take a full 4 hours of nothing but raunchy abuse that the game requires, it meets my expectations.

Overall, a great seat, a good design, and well worth the money.

I did many hours of research prior to buying the playseat. After factoring the cost to build my own, this turned out to be the best choice for a few reasons.
1. It's designed to fit many different size people. I'm 6 foot 1.
2 The build quality is very nice, Its not an eyesore sitting in my house!
3. The design is well though out with extra adjustibility in places you might not think were necessary when building your own.

For those of you purchasing a Buttkicker Gamer to use with this device keep something in mind.
1. Get one....It's the perfect addition to this product.
2. The Playseat doesn't really have a good place to mount the buttkicker so you have to get creative using the cross support bars below the seat. I found that using an spare 10mm socket as a spacer for the buttkicker gave it a fantastic grip of the frame.

Easy to assemble. The required allen wrench is provided in the package. I put car wax on all the painted parts before I assembled them, since everything here is prone to rust since it's so humid. The Logitech G25 wheel bolts onto the top via the predrilled holes. Same thing for the pedals. Unfortunately, Amazon doesn't sell the separate shifter mount. Otherwise, it's ready for the G25.

The only 'con' is that the angle of the steering wheel mount isn't adjustable. The washer at the end of the bolt which secures the mount to the angled piece (the one that's where a car's steering column would be) only allows for one position with the mount being flat.

BTW, if you have kids, you have to either put a pillow behind their backs or buy the optional slider accessory from someplace else (Amazon doesn't sell that either) for them to reach the pedals. The seat, as is, can't be adjusted close enough.

i ordered from amazon, and got it really fast. thank you amazon people. this playseat evolution is awesome. comfortable, easy to put away. BUT!, you see the black spin knobs? when you tighten them, they create holes, scratches, dents on the bottom pole connecter, they should've put rubber bottoms on the spin knobs or something so it won't damage the product. also they should've add something on the bottom of the metals so it won't scratch your floor. other than that, its a great product.

I was a little skeptical about the quality, I'm 193 cm tall and 240 pounds (113 kg) and I'm not the most gentle driver. My biggest concern was that the construction would be too flimsy and the whole thing would wobble or bend. Once I was using it I was positively surprised, it more solid than I thought. Yes it moves a little, but it doesn't take you out of the game at all.

The adjustments for different drivers is easy enough and quick. Even my 7 year old can drive in it comfortably. With some extra padding you can make it work for even younger drivers.

This sear is designed for the Logitech G25 wheel. There are holes and screws for the G25 so installing it was super easy. Overall the whole assembly didn't take very long.

The seat itself is very nice and comfortable and seems solid enough even for my size and weight. It folds in the middle for easy storage, but don't expect too much, even when folded the whole setup is pretty large.

The driving experience with this seat and the Logitech G25 is just pure joy. I have finally found the right setup and I think this combo gives you a very good price/performance ratio. I have tried much more expensive seats that were in no way better. If you are into race games this is the thing to have!

A few words about accessories. The gear shift holder is a must have for the G25. The seat adjust rails are a waste of money. They don't work properly but you don't really need them anyway. Between drivers you'll have to adjust the pedal distance and steering wheel plate anyway so the gliding seat doesn't add anything.

The carpet is also not really useful. It's pretty narrow and I don't see the use of it if your room has a carpet floor already. If you have hard wood floor (like I do) just use adhesive felt pads and you are all set.