Throne of Games: Acer’s ‘Affordable’ Predator Throno

Last year, Acer showed off the Predator Thronos, a $20,000 gaming station with a motorized “Zero-G” reclining system. That was a huge investment, even for the gamer with cash burning a hole in their pocket. Acer has followed up the Predator Thronos with a less expensive version called the Predator Thronos Air. Although, “less expensive” is only an accurate description when comparing the Thronos Air with the original. The new one is still a whopping $13,999.

It’s not even obvious what the Predator Thronos Air is when you first see it. The best way to describe the product might be a very, very fancy desk that you sit in instead of at. It doesn’t come with a gaming PC, monitors, or even a keyboard and mouse — you have to provide all that yourself, at which point you could probably have bought a reasonably priced midsize sedan instead.

The selling point here is immersion. Last year’s Predator Thronos accomplished that with a motorized system that tilted the chair, desktop, and monitors with a single press of a button. Acer trimmed the original’s $20,000 price tag by six grand by doing away with all the motors and control panel buttons (there’s still plenty of RGB). Instead, you manually adjust the chair’s position, and the steel armature brings the monitors and peripheral tray along for the ride so they remain in a usable position. It’s not all barebones, though. The Predator Thronos Air has a back massager, because why not? There’s an optional cup holder, too.

Acer plans to launch the Predator Thronos Air late this year in North America and Europe. It’ll probably be quite a production to get the device, though. You still can’t outright purchase last year’s Predator Thronos. You have to fill out a purchase inquiry form and wait for Acer to get back to you.

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