The Story of the Power Glove

[@GamingHistorian]

After several months of original research, I present to you the complete history of the Power Glove. This video was tough, as I had to learn not only about the glove, but the technology behind it. Hopefully I explained everything in a way everyone will understand. If you enjoyed the video and learned something, please share! Thanks everyone!

[@Parallelepiped2]

Thank you Norm!!

[@invaderhim23]

+kaza12345678 shut your gob!

[@iownalx23]

+kaza12345678 lets see you make a video that gets you paid.

[@xanderac]

+Gaming Historian This was really well done (as usual) love that you also managed to get Jirard and Clint on this also. It's rather fascinating to see all the steps that led up to the creation of the device.

[@robert2754]

it would have been nice to hear what happened to the other companies that developed the power glove. but it was still a good video

[@LGR]

Honored to be some small part of this one, dude. Blown away by the detail and production here, thanks for all the hard work!

[@ricardodpraca]

+Lazy Game Reviews LGR brought me here! Thumbs up for all your work!

[@jaderinoo]

+Lazy Game Reviews Recognized the voice instantly :)

[@AspectOfTheStorm]

Thanks for being in if. Always great seeing my 2 favorite KZbinrs in 1 video

[@SrSacaninha]

+Lazy Game Reviews Hey, I thought I recognized that voice at 19:37! Nice!

[@rwtx.online6462]

+Lazy Game Reviews I knew I heard your voice in there!

[@chadtronic]

This is by far some of the best content produced for the channel. Make videos at whatever pace you want Norman this was totally worth the wait.

[@GamingHistorian]

+Chadtronic Thanks Howard Phillips, I mean, Chad! :)

[@20PieceChickenMcNuggets]

I'm surprised that there's barely anyone here. (By the way, where's Tanic 3?)

[@GTXDash]

+Gaming Historian This is TV quality stuff

[@mooktube0307]

+Chadtronic Tell that to whatever 111 lol he doesn't feel the same.

[@Jimble]

+Chadtronic ily chad

[@whydoyougottahavthis]

Bringing a $10,000 cutting edge device in the 80's down to $23.00 in a matter of months is actually the most impressive thing here, also the call that 'This is stupid as hell nobody is gonna use this for two hours' is spot on and very wise, overall it's no shock the $23 dollar device didn't work as well as the tailored $10k one which I bet would've been very useful and actually work worth a shit...

[@austinbergen2409]

Nailed it

[@AutismusPrime69]

Not really

[@Whiteboykun]

Cost of production =/= cost to consumer

[@DiGiTyDarKMaN]

The best thing about the Powerglove is the fact that this video was made.

[@maiajones9765]

DiGiTyDarKMaN well at least the Power Glove worked on Nightmare on Elm Street part 6 that's the only place that darn thing worked on LOL

[@nexxusty]

You obviously have never seen "The Wizard".

[@karlhans6678]

@@maiajones9765 lol

[@j0nnyism]

Not for me it's not. I still use mine every night. And yes I still live on my own

[@yusrifourtwenty4944]

And avgn rant on it

[@The1stFishBone]

The idiocy of Mattel's management is shocking. This video is a revelation to me. Thier engineers performed a miracle getting the price of the glove down, and some of the original game concepts they came up with look great. If Mattel had not tried to rush this thing out the door in five months it could have been a huge success. Why were they in such a rush!

[@JaesadaSrisuk]

The1stFishBone Because the video game industry was dominated by toy makers at the time who were looking to maximize profits, not create breakthroughs of technological achievement. Remember, at the time, video games were seen as a diversion for kids; now it's a multi-billion-dollar industry aimed at people of all ages and video games are often judged as works of art like films or music instead of just a little kid's fad.

[@The1stFishBone]

That's not really an argument. Obviously, the power glove would have been much more profitable if the management had allowed their engineers time to polish the product and make more software.

[@freeecountryy]

He's not making an argument, he's answering your question.

[@anscerram9816]

The1stFishBone l00l00

[@joedoe1096]

Most consumer corporations are run by people obsessed with maximizing the current year's profits at minimal cost. They don't give a damn about next year. A rushed product this Christmas is seen as better than a polished product next Christmas. The reason for this attitude is because CEOs are juggled around so rapidly, they know if they don't squeeze out something impressive this Christmas, they won't be around for the launch of their product in development next christmas. Shareholders want profit now, now, now, or you're fired. So quality suffers.

[@grizzlywhisker]

my cousin got the power glove for christmas one year so i grew up playing around with one during the late 80's early 90's. he must have either lost or threw away the booklet that came with it because we would always hook it up and could never figure out how to use it properly. for us it was more of a toy to wear when you were pretending you were a robot or something lol.

[@petewillson205]

You had to use codes, that were in the book to play the games, the reason for the keypad on the glove. The glove never worked as demonstrated, but the es oad had turbo so I would just use It as a turbopad.

[@ChristopherMcLarenExperience]

Lmao that's funny bro.

[@livefreeprintguns]

Bro!! I felt the same way about the U-Force. I don't remember why I chose asking for that over the Power Glove, but trust me when I say I spent way more time pretending it was a futuristic laptop than I did playing video games with it lol.

[@spunkflunk]

But was it "So bad"

[@Agapelovestudio]

Bro same never knew how to actually use it

[@TheElectricBuddha]

Your videos are like a behind the scenes reel for things our generation lived through. One of the best channels on YT.

[@joeyberndt]

William Lobach Totally agree. Helps bridge a lot of 80s & 90s memories I have of video game culture. Also extremely informative and to me entertaining.

[@xdtrigger]

I said to myself, "why do you need 27 mins for a power glove video?", now I know. This is the most informative content about the power glove, ever.

[@jimmylarson7856]

My fondest memory of the power glove was that scene from The Wizard. So glad you included that

[@jc.1191]

And Captain N! Lol

[@Sneaky_freek]

Pretty thats the only memory anyone has of it.

[@livefreeprintguns]

I don't care what anyone says I absolutely loved that movie growing up. I think I still have the mini Nintendo power issue that you got if you went opening weekend!

[@MrMario2011]

This is incredible, man. I can definitely tell why this episode took so long, and the quality of it all seems like it would be on par with a program that would come from a big TV network. This really could pass as a broadcasted 30 minute documentary special about the Power Glove.

[@5TailFox]

Apparently, that person who was playin' 1942 at the beginning was the *one* person in existence, who managed to get the *one* Power Glove, that worked the way it was supposed to.

[@theomen7665]

Prolly some cat off screen playing with a controller

[@whydoyougottahavthis]

Or it was faked by someone out of sight using a real controller which is what I would've done if I was selling it

[@trottyong]

Amen. I was a very disappointed child once i tried it.

[@livefreeprintguns]

LOL!

[@Berttttt]

We had 2 of them. Where do I even start.

[@Dunkleosteusenjoyer]

All they had to do was make it a pair of gloves and then create a Mike Tyson's Punch Out 2, a ping pong game, and an air guitar game.

[@jasondashney]

The big fail was the same as sooooo many products. They tried to rush it for the upcoming holiday season instead of looking long term.

[@shibble]

@@jasondashney people lack vision

[@codymccoy5683]

This is like History channel documentary quality, great job! I hope this channel moves to this quality in future vids.

[@metalmugen]

+mrbrockpeters Not a fan of reality shows in general.

[@JF-tt6wy]

+metalmugen There was a time when the History Channel actually had quality documentaries on it. It's a shame those days are long gone.

[@DH1986]

+Duros asfdgasf Yeah, I remember when they just talked about the signing of the declaration of independence, without the testimony of ancient alien theorists.

[@TheRupeeMine]

+Duros asfdgasf The "history" is on H2. That's stupid, put History on the channel called "History"

[@ThesexyMrX]

+Ethan Don yea an H2 isnt even in HD yet right... rip history channel.

[@InfinityDz]

In retrospective, the power glove wasn't bad, it's the management of how the idea was to be realized that was. They were too enthusiastic and thought the power glove would sell only because it looked cool, but didn't put enough effort in creating content for it. Amazing video btw!

[@SnipeMD]

That's right kids. Glass Joe was the reason we have the Power Glove.

[@benmalsky9834]

And for those who like Robot Chicken, we appreciate the Power Glove as a tool in the shows production.

[@thebluejintythomasthetanke587]

Yup

[@Silverwind87]

Didn't AVGN lose to Glass Joe with the Power Glove?

[@someguystudios23]

@@benmalsky9834 every piece of wonderful crap has its place.

[@benmalsky9834]

Someguy Studios Has he said if only there was more development time and better software, it wouldn’t be seen as “crap”.

[@WJ0476]

Why did you make a video longer than the life span of the Power Glove?

[@calvinishere3813]

Apply cold water to that burn

[@Random_obsenity]

yeah

[@kriscucumber]

touche

[@sonicthefakerhedgehog8691]

Calvinishere 3 No you don't use cold water on a burn you apply pressure for about a minute.............then cover the burn with a thin layer of SALT.😈

[@calvinishere3813]

K

[@RobertHeadley]

I saw this, and I thought to myself, "I am not going to watch a half hour video about the power glove..." then I started watching and saw the documentary format and I was hooked. Good job.

[@niklasklasen8048]

haha Same Story here. 'wait. 30 Minutes about a crappy gimmick from the 80s?' But the Video was great. I liked it in honor

[@nathenhutchison6182]

+Niklas Klasen The thing is, though, that it really wasn't a crappy gimmick. The Power Glove was a solid idea. The problem was the thing that always seems to be the problem in these stories. "We want to get this out in time for Christmas so lets rush it through development and then get it on the shelf." If they had really taken the time to develop the Power Glove and made the motion controls consistent and precise and reliable and then developed a few good games that really took advantage of the motion controls and then included one of those games with the Power Glove and sold it as a boxed set (like they do with most hardware) the following Christmas, it probably would have been really successful. Instead they got it on the shelf as quick as possible with no games to go with it, and by the time quality games were being developed it already had a bad reputation.

[@DeeLiteyears]

+Nathen Hutchison Indeed. The other shown games look actually quite fun. I'd loved to see more games actually taking advantage of it

[@darkridr25]

I have been wondering when someone will resurrect this device for use with current VR technology. Oculus/Vive combined with the data glove really is a match made in heaven. Much more comprehensive than the current controls in use with these devices.

[@CyberMaverickGamer]

I'm with you in that.

[@r.o.b9363]

Let me try that get back to you when I'm done

[@darkridr25]

Interesting! I'll keep my eyes open. :D

[@DeisFortuna]

darkridr25 being able to control each finger independently is the biggest thing VR is currently lacking IMO.

[@gamerxd2942]

I have a proposal for you guys, in about 5 -10 years when the technology is more advanced I might have enough tech to do so, I will be doing experiments until then

[@beanietasticday]

I wasn’t expecting a professional documentary when I clicked. I checked you out, saw your content, and now I just subscribed.

[@tonystewartrocks14]

"THOMAS ZIMMERMAN WAS ABLE TO BUILD THIS IN A GARAGE! WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS!"

[@DudeBoerGaming]

The concept is really simple. What stopped others from doing the same is the patent.

[@THE.CHIEF616]

Nice Iron Man reference

[@Dwayneff]

@@THE.CHIEF616 Well....I'm not Thomas..

[@KootenaiKing]

"Sorry, sir, but I'm not Thomas Zimmerman..."

[@teazer999999]

@@KootenaiKing But I am. Nice to meet you ;). Patents are essential if you want anyone to invest money to make a product, especially a hardware product that requires NRE (non-recurring engineering costs), molds, chips and paying programmers and designers.

[@fergalstackstreams]

It seems like the takeaway here is just the reinforcement of the truism that corporate greed more often than not will ruin potential. Some of those Powerglove specific game ideas look like they would have been a blast. If Mattel had just waited until these games came to fruition and not tried to sell it as a backwards compatible device for games it was never intended for, instead of rushing out the glove for the holiday season because MOAR PROFITS NOW, there's no telling what it could have become and might have had a bigger immediate impact on gaming history.

[@mylifeingaming]

[Coury] Formatting like a real documentary with credits and everything. Great stuff, taking your format to the next level once again.

[@MeekelDubya]

I got one for Christmas when it came out. The marketing for this made it seem like the coolest thing for a kid my age. My excitement quickly turned to disappointment. It sucked so bad! Even with Punch Out it sucked. I still thought it looked cool so I cut the cord off of it and walked around with it on lol

[@doubleitp]

haha me too!!!

[@aplus1080]

Oh shiiiit I would love to see pics of that 😂

[@chillckc]

Haha me too. My sister and i really wanted the power pad that year. But it was sold out so my mom got us the glove. We were still so excited to have it but as you said that quickly turned to disappointment.

[@fsae0607]

Same here! Begged my parents for it for Xmas '89. Got it and the disappointment set in mighty quick. The moment at 23:30 hit home 😂

[@XtremeConditions]

INCREDIBLE quality for a "KZbin documentary". Someone should pay you, and air this whole thing on TV. Great work, you've got another sub!

[@tehspoderman7491]

+XtremeConditioning watch his tengen vs nintendo video its just as good as this one

[@XtremeConditions]

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll check it out! :)

[@tehspoderman7491]

XtremeConditioning np :)

[@leerees]

The problem was the glove was 30 years ahead of it's time, it's not meant for controlling 2d characters on a flat television screen. It's only going to be of use in a fully immersive 3D generated virtual world. Fast forward to today and virtual reality is finally becoming mainstream. If this was sold as an add on for the HTC vive people would buy it and software houses would make games for it. This product was never gimmicky it just should never have been released for the NES. Nintendo had the ingredients for virtual reality they just never brought all of the pieces together at the right time.

[@BG_NC]

Lee Rees using this for the virtual boy could have worked and kept both from falling into obscurity, but who knows.

[@MrMatthias]

I never would have guessed that virtual reality itself got its start with the Power Glove! Great video!

[@gosnooky]

"I love the Power Glove. It's so bad"

[@marioiacolucci]

The wizard

[@njorth1218]

If that wasn't accidental foreshadowing then I don't know what is

[@DM-ry6wb]

AVGN

[@BlueTroll]

"well yes, but actually no"

[@macky5636]

“Sometimes bad REALLY meant bad”

[@justinpino8115]

At least the Power Glove looks cool....

[@shibba2517]

Justin Pino and 'cut in half'

[@markmolino6091]

Justin Pino ,That's not saying much

[@christopher2327]

I cut the cord and just used it as a toy to play with my little brother.

[@yusrifourtwenty4944]

Cool my ass

[@CB_GAMES777]

It looks bad ass. I wish i could use it on the Wii.

[@KaptainK59]

My god, this is like full length professional documentary level. Content, production values, everything is top notch. Awesome work!

[@JohnSmith-qn3ob]

You have to use your hands? That's like a baby's toy.

[@baiaili80]

ha, nice BTTF reference

[@scottcharney1091]

I see what you did there.

[@NoobGyver]

Nice j-WAIT I WATCHED THAT MOVIE.

[@TheRaggiesoft]

Thanks Frodo

[@marblebongos2794]

So you're saying that guns, snipers, grenades, bombs, knives, machetes, saws, and anything physically treathening that can be touched by hand are baby toys?

[@CDRaff]

I used the hell out of my Power Glove. When I broke my controller I had to use the one built into the glove for about 2 months until I could make the money to get a new one.

[@Nate-ez3bw]

You have a Wii and a Kinect.

[@override7486]

9-pin controllers were pretty cheap even back then (80s/90s). Several dollarhs/£ max.

[@override7486]

​@@Nate-ez3bw What are you even talking about??! No fcking clue...

[@yellowblanka6058]

@@override7486 Another day, another troll/person on the spectrum posting random nonsensical things in KZbin comments.

[@MattBurosh]

Haha, did you wear the glove while using the controller, or did you try to hold it like a regular controller? 😅

[@WHATISUTUBE]

>Nintendo claimed the product was too gimmicky Nintendo complaining about something being too gimicky heh

[@GamingHistorian]

+WHATISUTUBE ha...interesting observation.

[@SillyValentine]

+WHATISUTUBE Thought the exact same thing!

[@BastetFurry]

+WHATISUTUBE Correction, Nintendo of ~1990 complaining about something being too gimmicky. :)

[@Fiends4]

+Bastet Furry Exactly what I was thinking.

[@Kippykip]

+WHATISUTUBE Haha that's what I was thinking! 3D, Wii remote, Touchscreen gamepad.

[@jumanjijoe9198]

"Nintendo said it was to gimmicky" I'm assuming the person who said that was fired and the company quickly reformed as gimmicktendo.

[@AdmiralBison]

It seems to be common issue with new concepts that fail. 1. because it rushed to market or to meet some financial deadline. 2. cheap parts are used, often significantly reducing the products intended performance 3. NO SERIOUS TESTING of the device to see if it works, and if there was testing then the companies knowingly deployed a inferior product. I'm looking at Occulus and what Facebook are doing with the Rift. 1. releasing a semi virtual device without the motion controllers and second camera 2. room scaling is significantly less the what the HTC Vive has to offer 3. this aggressive push to limit virtual reality content by having it exclusive to a less then stellar platform, when a medium such as Virtual Reality at this critical point does not need. Oculus/Facebook will most likely be the ones to kill Virtual Reality for another 20 years.

[@FranKyG70]

At least Valve tried/is trying to keep it alive and push it further. After the Vive they were already focused on how to improve the thing. And Steam is bigger than Oculus platform (or it's new Facebook games platform) will ever be. So if anyone is going to make it work and keep VR alive, it's Valve. Vive is also miles better than Oculus and can be used sitting down too. (VR headset with a controller is a weird feeling tho, so mostly good for racing games) And there are lot of good VR games that use room scaling near perfectly.

[@FranKyG70]

***** But Valve did Vive, HTC just manufactured it. Also Steam alone should be more than enough demonstation for long-term managment skills.

[@FranKyG70]

***** Everything you pointed out (except refund, i agree with that one) is actually amazing. Curating is still there, if you go through Steam itself. They just gave another option for indies to go through: Greenlight. Greenlight itself is a really good thing and one that not many would dare to do. (for obvious reasons: people) They provided an amazing platform (Greenlight) which is community curated. The idea was that only those games go through that YOU wanted to play. By itself providing a platform for developers to promote, host, update and a lot more for COMPLETELY FREE is pretty amazing. (it is actually free, but they take a set % off of sales, however if your game is free, then that % is 0) Shit games flooding steam? Blame the people who wanted it to happen.

[@Stereo3DProductions]

Room scale VR really isn't that good. I own VIVE/Oculus and never use those dreadful controllers for either kit. Don't compare Oculus to the Power Glove lol! Sure Oculus fucked up aspects other than room scale, but by all means the PowerGlove was a DOA product. It did not even slightly work. It was a broken pile of crap; at least Oculus is a functioning product. I do agree that by their fuckups, Oculus may well be the biggest drag on VR, ironically so as they were the first.

[@dsandoval9396]

i know this post is old but damn, that's the first time i see someone defend Greenlight. 'Steam let's the community curate Greenlight'? more like they just don't give a rats ass about cleaning it up, after all, why pay one of their emplyees to do it when you can get the public to do it for free? and paid mods, what. a. fucking. joke. i had to go over that little piece of information a few times the first time i heard it. like explaining it to a mentally challenged person, that's how i had to go over it with myself because i just couldn't believe my brain when it received that news.

[@JD3Gamer]

The power glove is one of those things that everyone hated but is somehow still remembered fondly

[@nTrylo]

I have always wanted one on a mannequin hand in a glass case.

[@nameless646]

Using the power glove and your imagination rather than your video games.

[@AngryCalvin]

People who had one hated it. It wasn't easy to get a hold of so many people never had one and were not able to experience what a failure it was.

[@n64glennplant]

I can tell so much effort went into this, fascinating and well written as usual. Thank you

[@Bou89]

Every time I look at the Power Glove, I always imagine AVGN screaming in the back of my head.

[@bruheehhhh]

FUUUUUUCCCKKKK WHAT WERE THEY THINKING

[@Transgender-ProphetMohammed]

AAAAASSSS!!

[@N12015]

I honestly imagine something more EPIC. I imagine specifically "the touch" from a famous cartoon with a transformation to defeat the evil gooze, as well as that episode of the same cartoon of a contest for getting that glove, despite them already knowing the glove was really bad.

[@ChaseFace]

This is hands-down your best video yet. Knocked it out of the park, dude.

[@edgarski619]

I loved it too. I just watched and liked your "what happens to sonic" videos. Really funny and gave a new point of view about that whole game.

[@brenscott5416]

The data glove is possibly one of the most interesting things ive ever seen, it is something i personally believe should be included with modern vr devices as controllers simply feel wrong

[@Hrothmeir]

"The Power Glove is too gimmicky!" cried the creators of the Wii.

[@GiordanDiodato]

you mean like ROB?

[@pferreira1983]

Nintendo hypocrites.

[@Sarge92]

never mind the wii what the fuck was rob the robot other than gimicky and a pain in the ass to get working right

[@chrisdom8984]

and the wii u

[@brandonnesfan]

The only reason R.O.B. exists was so nintendo could market the nes as a toy instead of a videogame console.

[@Captain_Pudding]

"Motion controllers? That's too gimmicky" - Nintendo.

[@PurushNahiMahaPurush]

Captain_Pudding *Proceeds to make a motion control console decades later*

[@disillusioned165]

Different times, different market. They still fucked up though.

[@neoasura]

The same company that turned down CD's for Cartridges. They aren't immune to making dumb business choices.

[@KOTEBANAROT]

@@neoasura Ninty64 was still a success though, even with carts instead of CDs.

[@questworldmatrix]

@@neoasura To be fair, worked on DS vs PSP.

[@ValensBellator]

I think it could have been a more fondly remembered novelty if it had waited for a few games designed specifically for it before being released. That glove ball one works quite well.

[@hanasong8013]

The guy who invented the damn thing even said so. It failed because Mattel built the thing, and then never used it for anything. They should've given it a 3-year development time instead of 5-months. This would've given it potentially new technology to work with but also would've let them actually make a line of games for it.

[@kozmeetorez]

@Hana Song exactly, when I first heard 9 months I said to myself "what the hell are they thinking?"

[@AngryCalvin]

That's the thing. 3rd party deleopers making a device that isn't compatible with NES games the way an NES controller is. Mattel with the Power Glove. Broderbund with the U-Force. Of course Rob the Robot didn't work with anything either. These devices are remembered as gimmicks.

[@brandonreina5461]

9:46 - The entertainment company also did Bucky O'Hare and Sky Dancers 13:34 - Mattel also acquired Pleasant Company a few years later

[@mikeluna2026]

The games they were making exclusively for the glove looked interesting. If they had waited until 2 or 3 games were completed it may have been a different story. But I guess publishers never change.

[@frankmarano1118]

Well you gotta remember back then development for a lot of games only took a few months so waiting years was a lot for them. But yes those games actually looked genuinely good & interesting even today, so they shouldve waited

[@Runthis313]

Agreed. But time is money.

[@hexxidelux6224]

@@Runthis313 And oh the money they missed out on by not waiting, or alternatively, making a game (like Wii Sports, just an example) to come with the glove and show off the glove in various minigames, opposed to what it did have. Yes, time IS money, but lacking foresight while doing a cash grab will waste time, money, reputation, future of product, demand of the product, etc. I think the real issue with Johnny Triple A is that they never *learn* , not really.

[@MaskMcGee]

Yea they looked interesting until the 10 minuite scripted hand movements were over and you tried to play it again. Zero replay value

[@artdependent84]

i am in love with the way you have put your content. from the transition and the music that fits with the timing and emotions. You are great at this and love you for it

[@davidfarler9110]

I remember when my cousin brought this to my house I was so excited...for about 10 minutes lol

[@famouskidvgi]

Great video ...I wanted to show my son the history of the Power Glove ..He loves old school gaming and the history of all my old gaming items ..and also it helps me see more of the history as well

[@EnigmaHood]

People who bought the power glove thought they were cool. Well guess what? They're not cool. Look at me, you think I'm cool? I have a fucking glove on my hand, I'm trying to play a fucking game with it, I look like an idiot with a fist full of shit! -AVGN

[@iownalx23]

what is this, third grade? - Kevin Butler

[@blueviper64]

I love the Power Glove. It's so bad. -Lucas

[@TOMMYDACOMMIE]

Shotgun! -Rosa Parks

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

+Bluntasaur how did she OHKO glass joe?

[@pix3l_brat]

Thank you so much for all your hard work! This is amazing!

[@DAGATHire]

Such incredible production values!!! Bravo sir! bravo.

[@exploderman2501]

DAGATHire but there were no memes..

[@saturnjr9136]

There didn't have to be memes, it's an educational video

[@darryl286]

Probably, this is the BEST Gaming Historian episode EVER!!!

[@scorpythebrown9121]

The infinity gauntlet of gaming.

[@dobbysuper]

I'm making a video simalure to the power glove and infinity war

[@paddle_my_mad_laddle]

*snaps fingers* "Mattel...I don't feel so good..."

[@drewolfshire5558]

Snapped half of common sense out of existence.

[@ferpego89]

I saw this device as a kid an always want it, I was poor and most of my friends too, so I have never seen how this thing works Great Video!

[@tylerkeller8869]

Haha! I remember the U-Force! This is why I love your channel. It's like taking a museum tour of my childhood / adolescence.

[@aliflamin8533]

0:03 Douglas Martin quotes voiced by James Rolfe (AVGN) 19:37 Howard Rheingold quotes voiced by Clint Basinger (LGR)

[@titaniumwaffle4304]

I loved the wizard and still have my power glove to this day

[@aznnp77]

The perks of the job. Being able to buy a Power Glove and write it off as a "business expense" for making this video. While getting to own and use probably the coolest thing ever created for the video game industry (at the time of course). The power glove came and went so fast that it's really a mythical piece of equipment that is mostly remembered for how cool they made it look in the movie.

[@Hector_O713]

I remember I had one didn't really enjoy the gameplay, I can honestly say I liked it more for my imaginary games that I used to play LOL

[@boodro2122]

Best channel concerning video games. Hands down! Better than...i can name a few. Thanks dude. Your channel is something NINTENDO would be proud to license.

[@sisterluke]

I vaguely remember this thing, I was too young for my parents to whip out the bucks for this but it certainly looked futuristic and cool. The only thing I had besides the controller was the zapper gun for duck hunt and that was pretty fun to use.

[@cerisejones8061]

doctors using the power glove for mock surgeries, nasa using the glove for research, me using the glove to land the plane in top gun nes.

[@Bensaw11]

The power glove was ahead of its time ;(

[@ThatNormalBunny]

+ArcadeRoot - what are you on about? The glove would of been the best thing back then but price cuts made it shit :/

[@muhanc.a.9299]

+Bensaw11 That's right, and the 2 things that did not play in his favor was a poor library of games and the lack of projects to take advantage of the hardware in the near future. Same thing happened with the Power Pad, it was waaaay ahead of its time but Nintendo lack the vision to keep taking advantage of it end up in the creation of DDR by another company and everybody knows the rest of the story. (I hope Norm decide to research about the Power Pad)

[@ZSXDFV]

+Bensaw11 *the PREVIOUS versions of the power glove were ahead of its time

[@timekeeper2538]

Correction: It WANTED to be ahead of it's time.

[@chriswheatley3146]

+Bensaw11 I completely agree. Very good idea, just not well implemented and ahead of its time. I actually purchased one for super cheap for using on a PC; which worked well for its intended purposes.. With the newfound growth of VR, expect to see the concept make a comeback.

[@deathbringer2000]

That second initial concept that used fibre optics would be PERFECT for modern VR.

[@EpicLPer]

I heard LGR's voice and instantly upvoted the video

[@kurtomac2386]

I wanted one of these so badly when I was a kid; looking back I’m happy I never ended up getting one.

[@justinw9455]

Me too. Ever since I've been watching avgn he said the glove sucks so I took his word

[@imlxh7126]

Dang, I wonder what vocal synths Zimmerman worked on. Interesting to know that the power glove's connection to electronic music had existed since its inception, since it's been used as a performance device by artists like Kraftwerk and Paul Demarinis (the latter of whom was and still is a professor at Stanford).

[@teazer999999]

Good question! This is the only demo I could find of the Vocalizer 1000 that we created. kzbin.info/www/bejne/f2rMh4SnjN-Ees0 Interesting that you mentioned Kraftwerk, one of my favorite bands that inspired me. Here's a project I did in honor of them....I call it "Project Autobahn". I converted the electronic data from all the car sensors into sound kzbin.info/www/bejne/mpuQfX2HrqydotU

[@imlxh7126]

​@@teazer999999 oh nice!! man, ever since we lost Florian i've been deep diving into Kraftwerk "again" (as if they haven't been my favorite band since i was 8 years old). That "Vocalizer 1000" thing reminds me of this old (and sadly discontinued) iOS app I used to have, though I could only turn my voice into about 5 or 6 instruments with it. I think it might have been called VoiceBand?

[@imlxh7126]

@@teazer999999 OOH, and you were using M4L for Project Autobahn? I see you too are a man of taste :D

[@teazer999999]

@@imlxh7126 I was using Ableton Live, but not Max. I wrote custom Python code to read in the car sensor's data (provided as a csv file), quantize it to MIDI events (0-127 data), assigning each sensor to a MIDI channel, then outputting the processed sensor data as a MIDI file. Then I imported the MIDI file into Ableton and assigned them to percussion and pitched instruments.

[@imlxh7126]

@@teazer999999 oh wow! didn't know you could integrate python with live, gotta look into this...

[@岩男沢山]

I am charmed by the observation that peanutbutter is a perfect match with chocolate. Most people in my country still do not know this (though various nuts and chocolate are very popular). This was great. Thank you.

[@invaderhim23]

so the thing actually worked but we got the discount build of it which is why it didn't work. Do I have that right?

[@ChimpManZ1264]

+invaderhim23 It was basically rushed. The pitch was all they looked at and like the game designer said none of them stopped to look at the bigger picture that this device needed it's own games.

[@davidmreyes77]

Lack of original games and horrible backwards compatibility with older games is what killed it.

[@brickman409]

+invaderhim23 yeah, that and they didn't make any software specifically for the glove (other than glove ball)

[@Arbbal]

+invaderhim23 As someone that got one for Christmas back in '89 I can honestly say it's not as bad as some people make it out to be. Watching some of the "reviewers" online that usually just are playing things up for laughs, they skip as few key steps in setting up the Power Glove. Even in this video Norm didn't attach the tube to the sensors like he was supposed to. That's what causes them to fall constantly, as they aren't properly supported. When you attach the tube they stay put just fine.

[@lockstepchris3400]

Amazing video. Keep up the great work.

[@Crusher29]

+Christian Perla It literally just came out, how can you know?

[@hezekiahramirez6965]

When I was a kid I had a friend who owned a Power Glove but never used it. One day she mentioned she had it but never used it so I asked her why because it seemed so cool. She told me it didn't work. I didn't believe her so she brought it to my house and we tried for like two hours but I was amazed how bad it was. It was so disappointing.

[@munky9284]

I am 43yo...I remember being about 14yo when Dad bought my brother and I a Power Glove for Christmas. I remember the hype and we were excited, but you were correct, there were no games, and we played what we could with it, or tried, but then shelved it and went back to controllers. It made me a bit sad watching this, because everyone was excited for the future of the device, yet, I see now, poor planning and execution led to the downfall. Thank You for the very informative and interesting piece about it.

[@wynterfoxx2517]

The intro is like a documentary about a kidnap victim. "This is its story"

[@tannerrennat7786]

Mark T. Wolffe

[@jordandupuis1249]

Dun dun

[@aaron75fy]

I remember James Rolfe demonstrating it in his AVGN series

[@Smokydoggg]

“Super Glove ball was developed by a game studio in the United Kingdom called Rare” You might have heard of those guys...

[@KaibaSeto.]

It might bring a tear to your eye when you remember what they used to do

[@sharksavage11]

10:30 I had that toy and I remember some of those holograms. I also grew up having a Atari game console, I also had the NES with the power pad, NES Zapper and the power glove. I also had the gold cartridge of Zelda and my brothers and I had the game genie. up up down down left right left right b a select start would get you 30 or 99 lifes in Contra

[@fabulousmuffin9186]

This feels like a Netflix documentary holy shit

[@thejoe_snotbombsskateboarding]

"Hey You Forgot The Power Glove.." -Freddy Krueger

[@rycegabrielmajor9847]

Dead Meat: aw hecc no

[@DreamerDeceiver76]

NOW IM PLAYING WITH POWER

[@ShadyKnight9]

Nintendo arguing that the Power Glove was a bad idea because it was gimmicky is incredibly hilarious in hindsight considering their recent track record with the Wii and Wii U. Then again, it was Nintendo of America and not Japan. Who knows how Miyamoto or Yokoi might have thought had the idea been pitched to them. Also, parts of the reason why the Power Glove failed is exactly the same as some Atari's awful business policies that led to the Video Game Crash: not giving programmers enough time to come up with something adequate all to meet the holiday season. Certainly showing shades of Mattel's eventually fall from relevance.

[@Caledon91]

+ShadyKnight9 I was thinking the same thing about how funny the idea of Nintendo turning down a gimmick is today. Then again, Nintendo did pull some gimmicks in the past. The short-lived R.O.B. looked cool on paper but in reality it was very slow, unresponsive, and limited. Only two games work with it and both of them are pretty washed-out and bland. Then there was the Virtual Boy 10 years later. Really the N64-GameCube eras were when Nintendo was probably the least gimmicky.

[@clayjack9969]

To be fair you don't have to put in codes for a wii mode or a game pad.

[@ShadyKnight9]

***** R.O.B. was intentional, because Nintendo's plan when they released the NES in the west was to advertise as a toy, as advertising it straight up as a video game console would only bring back memories of Atari and the Crash, and would not have sold nearly as well as it did, and a little toy robot being bundled with the NES was the best solution. Once Nintendo secured its position, they dropped all pretense that the NES wasn't a video game console and just kind of ditched R.O.B. altogther. If it weren't for R.O.B, the industry might not have recovered the way we know it.

[@TonyGearSolid]

+ShadyKnight9 Don't forget the Super Scope for the SNES, another device that was cool looking but didn't work very well.

[@ShadyKnight9]

TonyVS The Super Scope was supposed to be a bigger, badder Zapper, but yeah, it just failed.

[@KnjazNazrath]

Visionaries was the best stillborn animated series that I have ever seen.

[@bogbupog]

Guy went from working for SEGA to the US Navy LOL that's crazy

[@machspeedclan]

That rhymed >:(

[@B5s4]

Dude, you make great videos. I have never seen one that was remotely bad in any way. Great quality and super informative . thanks for all the hard work you put in for us!!!

[@Actar_Raikit]

Oh dear, that's a horrendous shame! Thanks for enlightening me on one of the more iconic pieces of gaming technology. What I really wanted to know, though, was what happened to all the designers and companies that were responsible for the product. I really hope that the failure of the device was attributed to their idea, as opposed to the execution of it. Hopefully they went on to bigger things.

[@aquadonkey.]

If you watched to the end he says that it made 88 million in profit, it was a garbage gimmick but it still exceeded expectations as far as a profit goes.

[@Actar_Raikit]

AquaDonkey69 480p Yeah, I saw that, but I wonder what happened to the people behind the glove and their company... I guess a quick google search would suffice, but I would have loved to have seen it in the video like some of the others that he did.

[@aquadonkey.]

Actar Raikit oh yea that wud be cool to see what else theyve done.

[@TheUnboxer073]

+Actar Raikit HOLY!!!!!

[@patrickallen6193]

+Actar Raikit How was it a failure? IMO it was GREAT, GREATEST thing ever happened to Nintendo and the TWO most Iconic was the glove and Gun.

[@kregadeth5562]

Norman yours are some of my favorite documentaries.

[@WhiskeyPieSometimes]

I love all your stuff but this episode is some next level shit. I could see this on History Channel or as audio on NPR.

[@chrisharwood5448]

Greg Lytle History Channel yes. Leftist NPR nope!

[@ValensBellator]

Needs more aliens for History Channel imo

[@furydeath]

$23 no wonder it never worked.

[@judithlanzas9857]

True

[@FloppyDisk893]

Cheap-ass Mattel

[@FloppyDisk893]

Cheap-ass Mattel, Horrible deadlines and Low budgets :/

[@newsnowlincanparkproducshu5409]

In 1989 dollars. That means it's real cost was $52 in 2017 making it a $150 peripheral by today's standards. Meanwhile oculus touch controllers are $100 and have 30 less buttons.

[@brycephil4668]

Everthing was cheap back then

[@metalmat3651]

$9,000 down to $23 in 5 months? Wow, might be a reason why it worked so crappy

[@bandombeviews6035]

MetalmaT Cost cutting.

[@FloppyDisk893]

Mattel is cheap AF

[@loganiushere]

Ya think?

[@matthewj1677]

Now this is the best documentary ever made

[@NOELQUEZON]

NES: Power Glove Wii: Wii Mote Switch: Joy Con

[@cammy85]

That Punch out clip was why I bought it in the first place. Before the Game Genie came along, I thought this was a way one could simply one shot all the boxers in Punch Out. D'oh!!!

[@TheGameChasers]

nice power bottom video game thing

[@OatmealTheCrazy]

Power bottom? xD I think you're on the wrong video.

[@Tactical_Therapist]

"Alright"

[@success5083]

lmao power bottom

[@fratercontenduntocculta8161]

Wow the production of this video is spectacular

[@tomfranzese9256]

This was really good. I would have paid money to see this in a theater

[@alvinchimp1392]

+Tom Franzese Looks like something you would see on history channel.

[@MikeDawson1]

+Gaming Powerz or, used to, back when they actually had shows about history.

[@alvinchimp1392]

Mike Dawson xD true.

[@theshreksorcist4571]

210 people were left-handed

[@FireMinstrel]

I'm still mad.

[@HugoStiglitz88]

lol I didn't dislike it but yes I'm left handed.

[@NoobGyver]

Top 10 times when you just rage cause your lefthanded yes im lefthanded.

[@theolodger]

7:47

[@georgeauldiii3886]

I was left handed. Well. Still am lmao. Glad this sucked so I didn't get jealous

[@PanchamBro]

Now you're playing with power. Now you're playing with FUCKING SHIT. If you get the reference, you'll get a cookie.

[@ricoanderson6626]

AVGN. cookie please :)

[@PanchamBro]

*gives **rico anderson** a cookie*

[@randomlaughable]

Where is the cookie?

[@PanchamBro]

randomlaughable Once you say where this quote came from.

[@randomlaughable]

ANGRY VIDEO GAME NERD A.K.A. JAMES ROLFE. KZbin CHANNEL: Cinemassacre

[@hendrix5757]

What an incredibly fascinating chronological recollection of how the infamous Power Glove came into fruition!! To learn about the project's humble beginnings as a new way to interface with music, programming software, as well as it eventually arriving to the concept of 'virtual reality'! I was totally oblivious to all the design paths and that led up to its final iteration! Great video!

[@daydreambeliever1985]

I remember buying a VB at Kay-Bee Toy Store for $20, and then returning it.

[@adamnapolitano432]

Why don't we ever see the modern VR companies like VIVE and Rift try to use the Power Glove for actual hand too hand VR testing instead of a bulky controller like the VIVE has? Or better yet rebuild the original $900 priced original version that was better, surely that cost would be lest today then it was back then right?

[@TheAbsol7448]

I was thinking the same thing. We have the technology to make a cheap remake of the expensive glove.

[@TooCooFoYou]

Probably because of copyright reasons.

[@hind__]

Patents are a thing but also stigma. Everyone associates the PG with shit

[@jaredthebc5926]

god bless the power glove,someday ill get it for my nes

[@stevestojan]

I was never as disappointed in a gift as I was when I was a kid and got this. So much anticipation; so much letdown.