The renewed popularity of gaming handhelds have changed the gaming landscape significantly, as they allow you to play PC games without having to be stuck on a desk. Problem is, they just aren’t as comfortable to hold in hand as your phone, making those long gaming sessions such an uncomfortable affair. The Mechanism Gaming Pillow looks to alleviate that burden.
Designed specifically for gaming, it’s a lap pillow with an integrated stand for mounting your handheld device. That way, you can get all the weight of that miniature PC off your wrist and onto your lap, which should allow for a more comfortable time during those extended gaming sessions.
The Mechanism Gaming Pillow has a cylindrical shape that measures 12 inches across, so it looks like a miniature ottoman clad in a pillow form factor. Instead of having only a soft cushion on top like a regular pillow, though, it gets a built-in articulated stand with a ball joint mount and a small square mount in front of the arm. Naturally, you’re supposed to mount the gaming handheld on the arm, so you can elevate or lower it based on your liking, while the smaller mount can be used to keep a power bank on the same pillow, so you can continuously keep your battery-sucking gaming handheld charged.
Do note, you’ll need to use a compatible grip to dock your gaming handheld on the ball joint. As of now, they have grips available for smartphones, the Nintendo Switch, the Steam Deck, the ROG Ally, and the PS Portal, although they also offer a universal grip that you can attach to any device using pre-applied adhesive. So why not just get the universal grip? Likely because some people don’t want a semi-permanent fixture on the back of their handhelds, which might make it difficult to use it with other accessories (e.g. cases). Each pillow comes bundled with only one grip of your choosing, so you’ll have to buy any extra grips you want separately.
The Mechanism Gaming Pillow’s other mount is designed to work with their universal grip, which you can stick onto a battery pack for easy mounting on there. The ball joint mount on the arm, by the way, makes it easy to rotate your gaming handheld a full 360 degrees, which can be useful if you want to use gyroscope controls. However, the ball joint can also be locked into place if you’d rather have it fixed in landscape or portrait orientations.
The pillow itself has a lycra fabric cover while the top is decked in stiffer faux leather, all of which you can remove for machine washing, so it’s easy to clean if you ever end up dirtying it with too much Cheeto dust, food grease, and soda spills. The whole thing is stuffed with EPS foam granules, by the way, so this should be plenty soft while it sits on your legs, chest (when you’re playing lying down), or any other body part.
The Mechanism Gaming Pillow is available now, priced at $59.