Showing posts with label Alps Interactive GamePad print ad (1996). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alps Interactive GamePad print ad (1996). Show all posts

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Alps Interactive GamePad (1996)


Original ad published in EGM's 1997 Video Game Buyer's Guide (late 1996).

Press to enlarge or download in higher resolution.

Form does not follow function


Video game history has a strange tendency of repeating itself. Such is the case of the Alps Interactive gamepad, a notoriously obscure peripheral for the original PlayStation.

Ten years after the release of this controller, Sony, of all brands, used practically the same design for their never released PS3 boomerang controller (also called “batarang” by some). 

This was a hotly debated topic in 2006. The first initial photos of Sony’s new monster featured a ghastly control pad not very different from the one you see here. The digital clamor was such that Sony replaced the thing with the Sixaxis pad, which had no built-in rumbling system (a long legal battle ended with Sony paying the original patent holders a large amount of cash). Later PS3 systems would feature a new itinetarion of the good ol’ DualShock controller.

The ad you see here was published in the back cover of the industry’s most important magazine. I fantom it was not cheap. Sad, because Alps Interactive is now defunct. Their curious controller lives as curious footnote in video game history and insignificata. (If you read the ad for the first time you'll notice "Destroy Style" as the natural phrase, given the typography used here. Well, they did!)

(Sorry, no video this time. I couldn’t find one! Here’s a documented user experience of the alps Interactive controller )





Alps Interactive GamePad print ad copy


Destroy them with style

Do you live for the thrill of crushing an adversary= Do you avon the success of slamming the competition? Are you tired of having a fried thumb? We’re here to help. The Alps GamePad for the PlayStation game console offers you the controls you’ve been waiting for un a fine tunes, easy-to-hold unit designed by professional game players to meet the demanding needs of today’s gamers.

  • Designed by gamers, for gamers. We all know what you need, and it’s all here.
  • Ultra-smooth dad lets you concentrate on your game, not a throbbing thumb.
  • Special rubber grip provides tactile feedback and a secure grip.
  • Extra long 8-foot cord.


To order call 800-720-ALPS
For more info visit www.interactive.alps.com

GamePad


Alps Interactive