In 1973, the ergonomic office chair made its debut.
The astronauts aboard the Skylab Space Station were then observed by NASA scientists. While resting, the astronauts always assumed neutral body postures. Scientists discovered that these positions are the most effective at offloading musculoskeletal tension and thereby lowering spinal pressure.
There were three core ergonomic principles in the first ergonomic office chair.
-Lumbar supported recline: a 90-130° recline combined with a supported lumbar curve puts the least amount of pressure on the spinal discs.
-Adjustable arm support: armrests that adapt to the user relieve neck and shoulder strain. This lowers disc pressure even further.
-Seated movement: changing positions frequently keeps muscles engaged while increasing circulation. This reduces the negative consequences of sedentary behaviour.
The Herman Miller Aeron was introduced in 1994 to meet the needs of desktop computer users.
A series of economic developments triggered the rise of the professional Esports business around this period.
Cheap Office Seating Takes Over in 2005
Non-ergonomic workplace chairs remained common despite the rise of healthy ergonomic seating. The cost was a major consideration. B2B sales to firms, schools, and government offices are the center of the multibillion-dollar office chair market.
In 2006, the world's first gaming chairs were released.
On the bright planes of Michigan at the turn of the century, a young company sprang forward to create luxurious racecar seats. Their release coincided with the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the ensuing market meltdown. They had a lot of chairs but no one to sell them to because the car industry was decimated.
An unexpected benefit!
DXRacer had been the startup, and it focused on the growing popularity of video games.
Esports and newly discovered streaming sites were the talk of the town. Ordinary chairs, on the other hand, were not designed for long periods of sitting. Gamers were essentially choosing between their careers and their health.
DXRacer introduced the world's first gaming chair, a guardian angel, in 2006. The ergonomic and comfortable racecar seats were a dream come true. Thus came the era of racing-style gaming chairs. The design was used as a template for future projects.
The neutral posture technique was transferred into an ergonomic office chair twenty-one years later.
Early Esports players required the same ergonomic support as office workers, but without the formality. The world's first racing-style gaming chair.
As the popularity of competitive Esports expanded, more players turned to gaming seats for a competitive advantage.
(2012-2014) Furniture companies starts creating their own gaming chairs
Gaming chairs were at once an intriguing novelty for furniture manufacturers. They immediately discovered, however, that manufacturing gaming chairs provides much-needed variety to their existing furniture inventory.
The United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Sweden are home to the world's largest and most prestigious furniture companies. However, it was Chinese furniture businesses that were the first to try to replicate DXRacer and AKRacing's achievements.
The early imitations were not very effective. Sure, they looked like DXRacer chairs, but instead of high-quality materials like steel framework, they used low-density foam and cheap plywood.
Gaming Chairs with Speakers were already available from major brands (2013)
Gaming chairs were, on many levels, simply a better way for gamers to sit. People wanted to know if they were comfortable, if they affected a player's concentration, and if they were even worthwhile.
On the other hand, GTRacing produced more than just a gaming chair. It provided music to all of the snoozers. They followed in the footsteps of Homall creators, using the DXRacer blueprint. They saved money while maintaining a pleasant gaming experience.
GTRacing designed a chair that is more comfy than Homall's, less expensive than DXRacer's, and comes with a unique feature: speakers.
German Furniture Companies ,Maxnomic and Noblechairs Enter The Market (2014, 2016)
German engineering is well-known around the world. When Homall became popular in 2012, it was also noticed in Europe. Engineers at Maxnomic and Noblechairs in Germany began developing their own designs.
It took them several years, but these office furniture businesses have undoubtedly created the greatest ergonomic gaming chair to date. The combination of ergonomic expertise and German engineering resulted in the development of gaming seats that resemble office chairs.
2018: Secretlab Rises To The Top
A couple of Starcraft players in Singapore saw a quality gap in the gaming chair business. Alaric Choo and Ian Alexander Ang formed a business in 2014 to address the problem. By 2017, the company has sold $15 million worth of chairs.
In 2019 Secretlab advanced to a new level.
Heliconia Money Management established partnerships with its first round of venture capital. The 2020 Series chair enhancements were then launched. These were vastly superior to prior models.
Gaming Chairs becomes Extremely Popular in 2020
The global shift to working from home has thrown the gaming chair sector into the spotlight. Chair sales exploded in late February and haven't stopped since. Many popular brands were out of supply and trying to keep up with demand by early spring.
Price increases in 2021
In the gaming chair business, three major events in 2021 were highlighted. First, industry-wide price increases resulted from a substantial increase in transportation and materials prices. Several brands increased their pricing by 10%. Secretlab and Herman Miller, for example, have increased their costs by more than 20%!v
Final Thought
We have no way of knowing what new designs the future will bring. We do know, however, that the gaming chair market has grown from zero sales in 2016 to over $1 billion in 2020.
What follows has already been established. The world is transitioning to a multi-device, always-on computer era. The Esports and gaming chair industries have already risen to the occasion.