This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2023) |
Manufacturer | Mattel (United States) PAX (Japan) |
---|---|
Type | Video game controller |
Generation | Third generation era |
Release date |
|
Lifespan | 1 year |
Introductory price | US$75 (Equivalent to $184 in 2023) |
Discontinued | 1990 |
Controller input | 1 Crosshead A B Action Buttons Start Select Buttons Turbo Buttons |
Connectivity | Serial port |
Backward compatibility | Nintendo Entertainment System |
The Power Glove is a controller accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The Power Glove gained public attention due to its early virtual reality mechanics and significant marketing. However, its two games did not sell well, as it was not packaged with a game, and it was criticized for its imprecise and difficult-to-use controls. [2]
The Power Glove was originally released in 1989. [3] Though it was an officially licensed product, Nintendo was not involved in the design or release of the accessory. Rather, it was designed by Samuel Cooper Davis for Abrams/Gentile Entertainment (AGE), made by Mattel in the United States [3] and PAX in Japan. Additional development was accomplished through the efforts of Thomas G. Zimmerman and Jaron Lanier, a virtual reality pioneer responsible for codeveloping and commercializing the DataGlove, [4] who had made a failed attempt at a similar design for Nintendo earlier. Mattel brought in Image Design and Marketing's Hal Berger and Gary Yamron to develop the raw technology into a functional product. They designed Power Glove over the course of eight weeks. [5] [6] [7] The Power Glove and DataGlove were based on Zimmerman's instrumented glove. [8] Zimmerman built the first prototype that demonstrated finger flex measurement and hand position tracking using a pair of ultrasonic transmitters. His original prototype used optical flex sensors to measure finger bending which were replaced with less expensive carbon-based flex sensors by the AGE team.[ citation needed ]
The glove has traditional NES controller buttons on the forearm as well as a program button and buttons labeled 0–9. The user presses the program button and a numbered button to input commands, such as changing the firing rate of the A and B buttons. Along with the controller, the player can perform various hand motions to control a character on-screen.[ citation needed ]
The Power Glove is based on the patented technology of the VPL Dataglove, but with many modifications that allow it to be used with modestly performing consumer hardware and sold at an affordable price. Whereas the Dataglove can detect yaw, pitch and roll, uses fiberoptic sensors to detect finger flexure, and has a resolution of 256 positions (8 bits) per finger for four fingers (the little finger is not measured to save money, and it usually follows the movement of the ring finger), the Power Glove can only detect roll, and uses sensors coated with conductive ink yielding a resolution of four positions (2 bits) per finger for four fingers. [9] The design of the Glove was based on RoboCop from the 1987 film of the same name. [10] This allows the Power Glove to store all the finger flexure information in a single byte. [11] The microprocessor converts the analog signal into two bits per finger.[ citation needed ]
There are two ultrasonic speakers (transmitters) in the glove and three ultrasonic microphones (receivers) around the TV monitor. The ultrasonic speakers take turns transmitting a short burst (a few pulses) of 40 kHz sound and the system measures the time it takes for the sound to reach the microphones. A triangulation calculation is performed to determine the X, Y, Z location of each of the two speakers, which specifies the yaw and roll of the hand. The only dimension it cannot calculate is the pitch of the hand, since the hand can pitch without moving the location of the two ultrasonic speakers.[ citation needed ]
Two games were released with specific features for use with the Power Glove: Super Glove Ball , a faux-3D puzzle maze game; and Bad Street Brawler , a beat 'em up. Both games are playable with the standard NES controller, but include moves that can only be used with the glove. These two games are branded as part of the "Power Glove Gaming Series". Since no Power Glove-specific games ever retailed in Japan, the Power Glove was sold only as an alternative controller.
Two more games, Glove Pilot and Manipulator Glove Adventure, were announced but never released. Another unreleased game, Tech Town or Tektown, is a virtual puzzle solving game in which the player moved a robotic hand around a deserted space station type of setting, using the glove to open doors and to pick up and use tools. It can be seen in a sneak peek in the Official Power Glove Game Players Gametape. [12]
Games without specific support can also be played with the glove by inputting codes on the glove's keypad that set a control scheme for the glove.[ citation needed ]
The Power Glove was adopted by the emerging virtual reality community in the 1990's to interact with 3D worlds in a cheaper way to the popular high end DataGlove produced by VPL Research. REND386 was the bridging shareware software to support it. [13] [14]
The Power Glove sold nearly one million units and was a commercial success. [15] However, it generally received extremely poor reception, because the controls for the glove were incredibly obtuse, making it completely impractical for almost every game on the console. Only two games were specially constructed for the power glove, and many users had no practical use for it for other noteworthy games of its time. [16] Consumer complaints also noted the poor connection signal between the glove and the console, build quality of the materials, and high price point for 1989 (retail price was $100, approximately $250 in 2024). [16] [17]
The Power Glove is featured in the 1989 film The Wizard , wielded by antagonist Lucas Barton (Jackey Vinson) who utters the infamous line "I love the Power Glove - it's so bad." [18]
The Power Glove is parodied in the 1991 horror film Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, complete with Robert Englund (As Freddy Krueger) saying "Now I'm playing with power!"
In 2013, a documentary titled The Power of Glove, was put into development. [19] [20] The film was released in 2019. [21]
The glove has lent its name to multiple bands, including power metal cover band Powerglove and Australian synthwave duo Power Glove.[ citation needed ]
The Power Glove was featured in the 2021 movie 8-Bit Christmas.[ citation needed ]
James Rolfe references the Power Glove quite a bit as the Angry Video Game Nerd.
Animator Dillon Markey uses a modified Power Glove as an animation controller for his work on the TV show Robot Chicken [22]
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania and 1993 in South America. In Japan, it is called the Super Famicom (SFC). In South Korea, it is called the Super Comboy and was distributed by Hyundai Electronics. The system was released in Brazil on August 30, 1993, by Playtronic. Although each version is essentially the same, several forms of regional lockout prevent cartridges for one version from being used in other versions.
A game controller, gaming controller, or simply controller, is an input device or input/output device used with video games or entertainment systems to provide input to a video game. Input devices that have been classified as game controllers include keyboards, mice, gamepads, and joysticks, as well as special purpose devices, such as steering wheels for driving games and light guns for shooting games. Controllers designs have evolved to include directional pads, multiple buttons, analog sticks, joysticks, motion detection, touch screens and a plethora of other features.
The NES Advantage is an arcade style controller manufactured by Asciiware and released by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987. The device is meant to rest on a flat surface at a comfortable level, such as a tabletop or the floor, with the player seated behind it. This way, it can be used like an arcade game joystick—with the left hand using the joystick and the right hand operating the buttons.
A gamepad is a type of video game controller held in two hands, where the fingers are used to provide input. They are typically the main input device for video game consoles.
A wired glove is an input device for human–computer interaction worn like a glove.
The Dual Analog Controller is Sony's first handheld analog controller for the PlayStation, and the predecessor to the DualShock; the first analog controller was the PlayStation Analog Joystick (SCPH-1110).
The Wii Remote, also known colloquially as the Wiimote, is the primary game controller for Nintendo's Wii home video game console. An essential capability of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via motion sensing, gesture recognition, and pointing using an accelerometer and optical sensor technology. It is expandable by adding attachments. The attachment bundled with the Wii console is the Nunchuk, which complements the Wii Remote by providing functions similar to those in gamepad controllers. Some other attachments include the Classic Controller, Wii Zapper, and the Wii Wheel, which was originally released with the racing game, Mario Kart Wii.
The Nintendo 64 controller is the standard game controller for the Nintendo 64 home video game console. It was first manufactured and released by Nintendo on June 23, 1996, in Japan; in September 29, 1996, in North America; and March 1, 1997, in Europe. It is the successor to the Super Nintendo controller and is designed in an "M" shape and features 10 buttons, a "Control Stick", and a D-pad.
The R-Zone is a portable game console developed and manufactured by Tiger Electronics. The R-Zone was shown at the American International Toy Fair in February 1995, and was released later that year. The R-Zone was panned by critics, and was also a commercial disaster, with its lifespan lasting only two years before being discontinued in 1997. Although the R-Zone was not designed to compete directly with any other handhelds, it marked Tiger Electronics' first multi-game entry into the portable electronic game market.
The Classic Controller is a game controller produced by Nintendo for the Wii home video game console. While it later featured some compatibility with the Wii U console, the controller was ultimately succeeded by the Wii U Pro Controller. In April 2014, Nintendo discontinued production of both the Classic Controller and Classic Controller Pro.
In computing, a motion controller is a type of input device that uses accelerometers, gyroscopes, cameras, or other sensors to track motion.
Nintendo 64 accessories are first-party Nintendo hardware—and third-party hardware, licensed and unlicensed. Nintendo's first-party accessories are mainly transformative system expansions: the 64DD Internet multimedia platform, with a floppy drive, video capture and editor, game building setup, web browser, and online service; the controller plus its own expansions for storage and rumble feedback; and the RAM-boosting Expansion Pak for big improvements in graphics and gameplay. Third-party accessories include the essential game developer tools built by SGI and SN Systems on Nintendo's behalf, an unlicensed SharkWire online service, and unlicensed cheaper counterparts to first-party items. In the fifth generation of video game consoles, the Nintendo 64 had a market lifespan from 1996 to 2002.
In computing, an input device is a piece of equipment used to provide data and control signals to an information processing system, such as a computer or information appliance. Examples of input devices include keyboards, computer mice, scanners, cameras, joysticks, and microphones.
Since the release of the Nintendo Wii, many aesthetic, ergonomic and functional accessories have been developed by third parties for the console’s controller, the Wii Remote.
The Wand is a line of game controllers released by Nyko as third-party alternatives to the official Nintendo Wii Remote. The original Wand duplicated the functionality of the Wii Remote, while the updated Wand+ added internal replication of the Wii MotionPlus for more advanced motion sensing, similar to Nintendo's later Wii Remote Plus. The Wand series also adds additional functionality through the use of a proprietary extension of the standard Wii Remote expansion port.
VPL Research was one of the first companies that developed and sold virtual reality products. It was founded by computer scientist Jaron Lanier in 1984. "VPL" stood for "Virtual Programming Languages". In 1990, VPL Research filed for bankruptcy and in 1999 all of its patents were bought by Sun Microsystems.
The Atari CX40 joystick was the first widely used cross-platform game controller. The original CX10 was released with the Atari Video Computer System in 1977 and became the primary input device for most games on the platform. The CX10 was replaced after a year by the simpler and less expensive CX40. The addition of the Atari joystick port to other platforms cemented its popularity. It was the standard for the Atari 8-bit computers and was compatible with the VIC-20, Commodore 64, Commodore 128, MSX, and later the Atari ST and Amiga. Third-party adapters allowed it to be used on other systems, such as the Apple II, Commodore 16, TI-99/4A, and the ZX Spectrum.
A virtual reality game or VR games is a video game played on virtual reality (VR) hardware. Most VR games are based on player immersion, typically through head-mounted display unit or headset with stereoscopic displays and one or more controllers.
The Xbox Adaptive Controller (XAC) is a video game controller designed by Microsoft for Windows PCs and the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S video game consoles. The controller was designed for people with disabilities to help make user input for video games more accessible.
...Power Glove comes in two sizes, and is targeted at players between the ages of 8 and 14...