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The Ultimate Gamer Lounge: Meet the Sumo Gigantor
Welcome to our brand spanking new series, something I affectionately refer to as The Ultimate Gamer Lounge. Stay a while, relax, take off your shoes and loosen your tie, should you wear one, so you can make sure you’re prepared to really engulf yourself in this new feature. Now, it’s common knowledge that everyone wants a place that’s exclusive to gaming, your own personal home within a home where the furniture is inviting, the technology superior, the food is tasty, and the energy drinks are bottomless.
Few of us are lucky enough to have such a place set aside just waiting to keep us comfy while we explore City 17, Raccoon City, Rapture, or a certain foggy resort for hours on end. That’s what this series is all about because every week or two we’ll take a look at some of the best gear and furniture ideal for gamers. And what better way to start off such a series than with one of the best inventions since, well, the gaming console: the beanbag chair.
I’ve long been a fan of the beanbag chair. It’s alluring bulbous shape, the sound it makes as it conforms to your bum, the way even the most talented Interior Designer doesn’t have the skill to match this loud, comfy mass with other furniture in even a slightly appealing way. I’ve owned a handful of beanbag chairs in my time, most of which were in my possession when I was too young to fully realize their potential as a small animal cannon, but never have I owned anything as large or welcoming as the Sumo Gigantor.
Now I’m old, or older, and even if I had owned a thousand beanbag chairs before this nothing could’ve prepared me for the hulking monolith of beany comfort that is the Gigantor. This thing isn’t a piece of furniture, it’s a way of life, and it’s the first thing you see when you enter my apartment, mainly because everything else is hidden in its rather substantial shadow.
So you can more fully realize the size and beauty that is the Gigantor, it’s six feet wide and stands close to four feet tall. It’s easily my newest favorite thing in my room (sorry Sony Bravia, you’re no longer the Hot Stuff) and I dare say it has an aura of intimidation about it, like the room it occupies is no longer yours and you’re now the furniture and the Gigantor your master.
If you’ve ever owned a beanbag chair you already know the basics; they tend to be comfy, mound-ish, and they make a satisfying soft crunching sound when you place your weary bum upon them. This alone might sell the idea of a beanbag chair to most, but wait, it gets better. You can customize it with four different micro suede covers that come off easily for washing, they’re essentially waterproof, as everything I’ve accidentally tossed upon it has harmlessly slid right off, and they’re guaranteed to never go flat.
In past experience with such furnishings, they usually go flat or transform into odd, butt-shaped forms after time. The Gigantor, being above such cruelty, shrugs off any indentations left by behind abuse in a half hour, tops. Then it sits there, daring you to sit upon it again so it can swallow you up and not let go until you find the strength, or will, to escape its cozy clutches.
If you’re lucky enough to have a room dedicated to entertainment (or for the luckier amongst us, a Game Room, err, Lounge) the Gigantor is one of the comfiest things you can stuff in such a room. Its customization arsenal is limited to four options but that should be enough to match it to your room’s décor. It can fit multiple people, assuming you know each other well enough to snuggle within close proximity of one another. Or if you’re like me there’s more than enough space for a single individual to sprawl out and make bean angels for hours on end. Hell, it could even double as a bed, and believe me; mine managed this feat on more than one occasion.
The only issue, assuming you haven’t gathered this already, is just how colossal the Gigantor is. Once it’s in a room it owns the room. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just an incredibly noticeable one. Mine replaced my ailing futon to become my new throne, ideal for gaming/movie-watching/[CENSORED]. If you’re looking for something that places comfort above all else, or if you’re simply looking for a way to force your date/significant other to get real close, the Gigantor might be the perfect addition to your home. Just make sure you have room.
The Sumo Gigantor beanbag is a product of the fine people at Sumo Lounge, and it retails for $399 USD, but how can you put a price on comfort? If you’re looking for something a little less room-engulfing there are a plethora of other Sumo bean bag chairs available at the Sumo Lounge website.
Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor best known for his role in 1993’s Jurassic Park, has passed away this week at 78 years old. In a statement shared on Neill’s Instagram page this morning, the actor’s family said that his passing was “sudden and unexpected.”
Neill had been diagnosed with a rare blood cancer in 2022, but stated the following year that he was in remission. The family notes that he “remained cancer free” at the time of his passing.
The family statement reads, “It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney Australia. Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life. The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free.
“They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care. More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.”
In addition to his iconic role as Dr. Alan Grant in the original Jurassic Park and the sequels Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World: Dominion, Sam Neill left an indelible mark on the horror genre with memorable roles in Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession, The Omen: The Final Conflict, John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness, and sci-fi horror favorite Event Horizon.
Sam Neill’s vast resume in film and television began in the early 1970s and also includes the films Sleeping Dogs, Enigma, The Good Wife, A Cry in the Dark, Dead Calm, The Hunt for Red October, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Hostage, The Jungle Book, Snow White: A Tale of Terror, The Horse Whisperer, Bicentennial Man, Daybreakers, Escape Plan, and Thor: Ragnarok.
Sam Neill is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.
Steven Spielberg said in a statement to Variety, “I owe a debt of gratitude to Roger Donaldson, Gilliam Armstrong, Graham Baker and Phillip Noyce for casting Sam Neill in the roles in which he was so brilliant that brought him to my attention and led to his playing Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park. Sam was exceptionally collaborative. It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children. I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him.”
Spielberg adds, “Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.”
Sam Neill in ‘Event Horizon’
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