What just happened? A YouTube user has managed to modify Nintendo's Power Glove to work with the company's Switch, a handheld console that launched nearly 30 years after the ill-fated motion controller. It's far from perfect as issues like latency and the inability to remap certain buttons keep it from being a true competition-level or even a practical solution but it does work and is usable.
Tech YouTuber Will it Work? wanted to use the Power Glove to play Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, a mixed reality version of the popular racing game that employs radio-controlled cars to drive around your house.
Two key pieces of hardware were needed to get it working: a USB NES RetroPort adapter that converts the original NES controller plug to a USB connector and a ConsoleTuner Titan One dongle needed for the Switch to recognize the generic controller.
Nintendo's Power Glove is the perfect example of an idea that was simply too early to market. The motion controller for the original Nintendo Entertainment System launched in 1989 and was prominently featured in the movie The Wizard.
Unfortunately, only two games were ever released with features designed for the controller and there was no title bundled with it. Worse yet, the early wearable wasn't all that precise and a bit clunky to use. Few were surprised when Nintendo discontinued it the following year.
This isn't the first time we've seen someone repurpose the Power Glove. In 2015, a Robot Chicken stop-motion animator detailed how he uses the controller to help create content for the show. In 2016, someone modified a Power Glove to control an aerial drone.
Found is a TechSpot feature where we share clever, funny or otherwise interesting stuff from around the web.
Image credit: Stephanie Barstow