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In Memoriam: Nintendo Power Glove

20. Mar, 2007 7 Comments

Today, I’d like to take a moment to pay my respects to the greatest gizmo of all time: The Nintendo Power Glove.

For those of you who don’t remember, the Power Glove was released as a peripheral to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1989. That is also, coincidentally, when it entered my heart.

Power Glove Ad
What was not to love about the Power Glove? It was bulky and expensive, it didn’t work properly, and it was apparently designed for a 40-year-old plumber’s hands, but man, did it have hype. Having a new Power Glove was the 10-year-old’s equivalent of driving a Mazerati – it was expensive and uncomfortable, but the potential rise in social strata was dizzying. Even if you had a Buddha belly and corduroy shorts (and I’m not saying that I did, ahem) people would come over to your house to play NES with you, because the Power Glove was just that cool.I mean, c’mon. This was a glove that had a 90-minute commercial with Christian Slater in it. What did they call it? Oh, yeah. The Wizard. When the Power Glove first premiered (with the immortal words, “I love the Power Glove. It’s so bad“), it looked at least 52.3% more awesome than any toy I had ever seen, including the full metal Voltron with all 5 lions. The kids in the commercials were always throwing punches in the air or miming a steering wheel or something – it was the coolest thing ever.

The Power Glove itself, on the other hand, didn’t actually work that way. Using it was more like sign language for NES. After about two hours of flexing my index finger and yelling “Jump. JUMP!” at the screen in a panic, I gave up and learned to operate the wrist-mounted control pad with my left hand.

Take it off? What’re you, nuts? No, no, perhaps you don’t understand. This was a Power Glove. You don’t just take a Power Glove off. So it makes gameplay a little harder, instead of easier as advertised. That’s an acceptible sacrifice.

Update: Looks like they finally got it right.

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7 Responses to “In Memoriam: Nintendo Power Glove”

  1. Smivey Reply 20. Mar, 2007 at 4:26 am

    I have never had a power glove, but I really want one now. Of course, I don’t have an NES, but from what I’ve read, that really doesn’t matter. I’ll just wear the glove while I play my Xbox. Incidentally I have no idea why I bother to use capital letters in my replies to your posts. After I hit “Submit,” all my efforts are foiled. Well, call me a creature of habit. Or just stupid.

  2. RaceMcCloud Reply 02. Apr, 2007 at 3:17 am

    Voltron was made up of lions, not tigers. Dick.

  3. Pip Reply 02. Apr, 2007 at 8:23 am

    You’re right. It was late at night when I wrote it. A pretty horrific mistake for a guy who actually remembers the blue guy (Sven) before Princess Allura took over his lion. I’m editing the post now, before any of my other friends see it and I am revealed to be a poser geek instead of the real thing.

  4. megan Reply 02. Apr, 2007 at 3:42 pm

    plus, i may assure all of the readers that the real metal voltron lives on a bookshelf in pip’s apartment…so, definitely not a poser then.

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