Topic: Why is the Power Glove so bad?

@SuperSonic1990: it could be the D-pad at the top followed by a straight line of buttons on that black pad above the wrist? it looks like it's about the right length, too.

@TheBlackDragon-I know! It's the motion sensing! The Power Glove must have been a prototype for the Wii Remote!

@SuperSonic1990: perhaps not a direct prototype, but i would guess it helped to pave the way.

Why did those input sounds sound like the tune from "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind"?

Power Glove you say? Well, any reason to pop this on here:

I still have never used a Power Glove.

You haven't missed anything.

Oh g*d I wanted to punch the power glove inventor with the power glove. It wouldn't even make a good s*x toy. Now the Wiimote.......

I love the Power Glove. It's so bad. (Sorry, had to get it out of my system.)

I'm probably going to be tarred and feathered for this, but there was nothing really wrong with the Power Glove. As toy controllers went, it was decently constructed and did what it was designed to do.

The real problem with the Power Glove was that it was a 3D input device tied to a 2D game console. Even on the best days, that was a poor match-up. If you can imagine using the Wii Remote screen pointer to play NES games by moving the pointer away from a center-point, you have a pretty good idea what it was like to use the Glove with most games. Given that NES games were all about precision, this wasn't a very good input scheme.

Mattel did release a 3D game to encourage the use of the Power Glove. It was called "Super Glove Ball" and it was a sort of 3D breakout. It worked a lot better than most NES games, but suffered from a fatal flaw: IT WAS BORING. I mean, mind-numbingly BORING. To my memory, Mattel didn't try releasing any other Power Glove specific games, thus leaving the Glove as little more than an oddity.

But there was a silver lining! VR homebrewers used to adapt the Power Glove for use with home computers. Since the PCs of the day were capable of generating 3D environments, these early homebrewers had great success with the device. In fact, I believe I still have my homemade Power Glove adapter for the PC. It's too bad the wiring on my glove is frayed between the sensors and the glove or I'd pull it out and show my kids.