Showing posts with label Nintendo Power Glove print ad (1989). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nintendo Power Glove print ad (1989). Show all posts

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Nintendo Power Glove (1989)

Nintendo Power Glove advertisement
Original Power Glove ad published in the October 1989 edition of EGM (no. 04)


Historical Background and Graphical Analysis



Possibly the most infamous third controller ever, the Power Glove, released in 1989, set you back about 100 dollars and delivered a terrible video game experience.

Like most third-party Nintendo accessories, this contraption made the most basic gaming action, like walking or changing direction, a massive chore. It was developed by Mattel, the toy giant, and marketed extensively in every video game magazine of the era. It even was featured in the movie-long advertisement called The Wizard, staring the famous Fred Savage. Although some games were specifically produced for it, the consensus was that it held no ground against Nintendo's regular controller.

Today, the internet has revitalized some interest in the Power Glove. There are hundreds of hilarious reviews of this thing on Youtube, an even a serious documentary that explains the technology that it used and its effects in today's mass culture.  There's even a Kickstarter campaign to bring it back!

The original ad, of course, rehashed every end of the 80's trope. You have the Wayfarer sun glasses (very popular today, in a weird twits of fashion) and the obligatory thunderbolts to express supernatural power afforded by this new and awesome technology. 

The kid appears in the middle of the frame, making this and ad targeted at this particular age group (kids between 7-12 years of age).Key features are well displayed (so many buttons!), giving the product an edgy, technological, attitude.  


Now there were other adverts for the Power Glove linked to practically the only game available for the peripheral at launch, like the ones you see below. This was a three part piece for Super Glove Ball, spread out in three pages of EGM's September 1990 issue (no. 14).




Nintendo Power Glove print ad copy:


Everything else is child's play 
The Power Glove. You plug it in like any joystick. But the similarity stops there. Because now you don't just guide the action. You are the action. 
3-d sensors track the position of your hand, giving you free-flowing, instant response. It's a complete connection. Intense, And powerful. 
Plus, the Power Glove has a unique programmable keypad that gives you amaizing new ways to play almost every Nintendo game. All your joystick games become different. More exciting. And with games specifically designed for the Power Glove, you'll be blown into another dimension. 
So look for the Power Glove when it hits stores this Fall. Once you put it on, everything else becomes child's play.