You’ll love the Power Glove documentary. It’s so bad.

By Albert Khoury Published October 10, 2015

The Power Glove - Gaming Historian

The Gaming Historian’s in-depth Power Glove documentary brings us back to 1989, when every kid’s Christmas list had the futuristic controller highlighted, underlined, and circled. Mom and Dad (or Santa) understood that this item took precedent over all the others. Here was an NES controller you wear on your hand that lets you become part of the game — you could clench your fist and throw a punch or a ball. With the Power Glove, you were a freaking robot.

The Power Glove was licensed by Nintendo, but the company was not involved in its development. The design was relegated to Abrams/Gentile Entertainment, an independent toy design firm. Toy manufacturing giant Mattel then took over production. An onslaught of television and magazine campaigns hyped up the product with the slogan “Everything else is child’s play.” The glove was even tied into the Nintendo-produced film The Wizard, starring Fred Savage. This 90-minute Nintendo commercial later gave birth to one of our favorite memes.

Lucas shows off his Power Glove skills in The Wizard. — Image used with permission by copyright holder

There were two games designed for use the Power Glove. Bad Street Brawler was ported over from the PC, while Super Gloveball was developed around the glove, but neither game worked very well. When it licensed the glove to Mattel, Nintendo stipulated that the glove work with every game in the NES library. Consequently, the glove was adapted to games where its use did not make sense. Backwards compatibility was spotty at best.

Recommended Videos

According to a 1990 article in New York Magazine, Mattel expected to sell a million Power Gloves by the end of the year. This lofty projection did not come close to fruition. The Power Glove was discontinued that same year, having sold only 100,000 units.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The controller did not function as promised and the NES could not keep up with the demand for 3D movement. There was no left-handed option available, and the included manuals were extensive and confusing. Setup and calibration was wonky, and codes had to be entered for every game except those under the Power Glove Series…and there were only two of those.

Though it was a commercial failure, the Power Glove introduced the masses to the potential for virtual reality. And Mattel did make some money on it, though not what they were expecting. Nearly 20 years after the glove’s introduction, we got the Nintendo Wii, which influenced Microsoft and Sony to develop their own gesture-based systems. The Oculus Rift headset, due out in 2016, showcases the next generation of virtual reality. Each new development owes something to the Power Glove.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Al started his career at a downtown Manhattan publisher, and has since worked with digital and print publications. He's…

Gaming

If you love Monty Python, you’ll adore this hilarious new game

The main character of Thank Goodness You're Here is hoisted into the air.

I was raised on British comedy. It was one of the few things my father and I both agreed on, so I spent plenty of nights watching Monty Python's Flying Circus and Mr. Bean. Shows like that became formative, as I grew a love for physical comedy and ridiculous gags by studying silly walks. To an outsider, it all might just look like random jokes that don't make much sense, but there's an art for absurdity that the British comedy scene nailed.

I found that spirit once again in Thank Goodness You're Here! Developed by Coal Supper, a small studio based out of Yorkshire, England, the "slapformer" is gleefully goofy in the same way that Monty Python is. It may not be the most compelling gameplay experience out there, but the bite-sized comedy delivers some good-natured (if juvenile) laughs through colorful cartoon absurdism that brought me back to my childhood for a couple of hours.

Gaming

You’ll have to wait just a little longer for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl

A Stalker from Stalker 2 looks off in the distance with a radioactive symbol behind him.

Upcoming survival game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl has been delayed yet again, but unlike some of its other delays, it's only by around two months. Developer GSC Game World posted a video and statement on Thursday saying the game's release, which was previously set for September 5, will now be November 20. It wrote that the developers want to take the time to fix some bugs (or "anomalies," as it calls them).

The video, posted on YouTube and X (formerly Twitter), says the zone will remain "out of bounds" until that date. The player character then opens their table to see the new date. "Really?" they say. "Again?"

Gaming

It looks like you’ll still be able to play as Link in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

Link stuck on a big black and purple crack in a dungeon floor in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

Fans are excited for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom for a lot of reasons, but chief among them is that you can finally play as Princess Zelda after decades of playing as Link. However, that doesn't mean Link is completely out of the picture. In fact, it's looking like he's still playable in some capacity.

The ESRB has rated the game E10+ due to fantasy violence, and the official page for that information contains a short summary of said violence. It describes Zelda's combat style (she has a magic wand called a Tri Rod that can summon creatures), but also Link's. Specifically, as Link, you can "use a sword and arrows to defeat enemies."