I am an avid PC gamer and when I play, I always use headphones. I use headphones because they don’t disturb the people in my home and it helps block out the noise in the environment that disturbs my play. Typically, when I play I use a set of Razer Barracuda headphones that provide very good surround sound audio quality.

Razer has introduced what may be my next set of headphones called the Megalodon 7.1 surround sound gaming headset. The headset uses Razer’s new Maelstrom Audio Engine to process positional audio cues 800% faster than comparable virtual surround sound systems according to Razer.

I grew up on Atari, moved on to Nintendo and then to PC gaming as the years went by. I am always looking for cool gaming gear that will make games more fun and enjoyable. Driving and racing games are one of my favorite genres and things like force feedback steering wheels make the games much more fun. I am still waiting for full-motion simulators to get affordable so I can add one to my collection of gaming gear.

Gyroxus released what it calls a full-motion video game chair this spring. The chair sold for $489 when it was first launched — not too bad for a full-motion simulator. The Gyroxus price was cut significantly today making the chair now sell for $389. The chair is compatible with the PS3, PS2, Xbox, and Windows PCs. The chair has an adjustable back to accommodate users of different heights and a USB port on the chair so you can plug the controller and chair in with one cable.

I was able to get my hands on a Wii when they first launched (at the regular MSRP thankfully). One of the things I notice is that when I want to play it always seems that the batteries are dead or nearly dead in the remotes. I have a recharging system for the remotes, but it has suddenly stopped working putting me on the prowl for a new system.

Sanyo has announced a new recharging system for the Wii remote using its Eneloop batteries. The battery pack replaces the normal AAs you use in the remote and the battery door from your remote with one that looks like something form a cordless phone.

If you have managed to get your hands on the Wii and use it for things like chatting or surfing the web, you know what a pain it can be to type on the Wii with the remote. What the Wii has been missing is a keyboard to allow for much faster data input.

Logitech has announced a Nintendo licensed keyboard for the Wii called the Logitech Cordless Keyboard for Wii. The QWERTY keyboard uses 2.4GHz wireless technology to connect to the Wii and includes a dongle for plugging into the Wii.

I always sort of thought Guitar Hero was a stupid concept until I was bored one day in Best Buy and picked it up and realized how fun the game was. When Rock Band came out the drums had me running to buy the game the day it came out. It didn’t take long for me to realize the weakest link in the PS3 Rock Band bundle was the guitar, which broke about 3 days into playing. Now it only strums one way and you can’t activate Star Power/Overdrive to save my sucky friends when they punk out.

Peak Products has announced the Starpex guitar controller for the PS2 and PS3, and it is way sweet. Peak says that the controller is actually built by a leading guitar maker and the thing is made form real wood. Features of the Starpex include full Guitar Hero and Rock Band functionality with a Star Power/Overdrive button and a tilt sensor for the traditionalists.

Gaming keyboards are a very important peripheral for the PC gamer. While any old keyboard will work for typing email or surfing the web, not just any old keyboard will work for gaming. Basic keyboards have a big problem with ghosting for one where when you hold a key down for long periods it keeps repeating when you release it. That is a very big problem when you are playing and your character doesn’t stop moving.

The catch with many gaming keyboards is that they tend to run at least $50 and sometimes more. OCZ announced its Alchemy Elixir at CeBIT a while back and now it has announced the keyboard is ready to purchase.

If you have been able to get your hands on a Nintendo Wii and have spent time playing it, you know how fast the batteries run out in the Wii remotes. Owners of the PS3 also know what a pain it can be to have to plug the USB cable into your PS3 controllers for charging.

Energizer and PDP have teamed up to market an Energizer branded line of video game console accessories that focus on keeping controllers charged up and working. The line will include charging docks, cables and battery packs for all major video game consoles including the Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360.

When it comes to gaming many people think first about graphics and might not think about sound as being one of the biggest factors in a game. Sound is as important to video game immersion and gaming fun as the graphics are. To get the most from the next-generation video game you really need surround sound. The catch is full surround sound can bother other people in the house.

Turtle Beach announced the newest addition to its line of Ear Force headphones today called the Ear Force X4 Wireless Xbox 360 Headphones with Dolby 5.1 channel Surround Sound. The new headphones are designed to allow gamers to get all the immersion of full 5.1 surround sound without having to run speakers and wires all around your room. The Ear force X4 headphones also feature a mic that allows for chat functionality in games.

When Nintendo launched its Wii game console one of the most revolutionary features of the system was the motion based controls. Since its launch the Wii has went on to become one of the best selling game consoles around largely due to the novel control method.

Typically computer games are controlled by a mouse, keyboard and sometimes a gamepad. A new PC controller from GoLive2 promises to bring some Wii style controls to PC games. The Stix series includes the Stix 200 and the Stix 400.

A long time ago I reviewed a software package called Voice Buddy that allowed you to control your games by speaking commands into a microphone. It worked—sort of. One Voice has announced a similar product called Say2Play that promises to let gamers operate some aspects of their video games by speaking commands.

The software is currently in beta form and claims to allow gamers to speak instructions like “flack cannon” and choose the weapon without having to scroll or press a button. The application claims to work with some of the most popular games around right now like WoW, Crysis, Unreal Tournament III and more.