It’s probably safe to assume many of you may not remember a specific peripheral for the original Nintendo Entertainment System: the Power Glove. Even though that controller scheme failed miserably, some of the lab rats at Sony had once pondered about bring back the ‘glove’ for the PS3.
Nintendo’s Power Glove was a break-through in technology for its inception back in the beginning of home entertainment. It was the first controller that allowed the user to recreate his/her hand movements onto the television screen in real-time (sound familiar?). However many of the users complained about the lack of precision and the difficulty to use it. Sadly (or thankfully), the Power Glove failed, earning itself one of the worst controllers ever created.
Fast forward 20 years later, we finally learn that Sony had once decided to take the glove approach, which could have been the new PS Move, and potentially another disaster. In an interview with NowGamer, Dr. Richard Marks, one of the creators of the Move, said that they had began their research using a glove device.
“We had some work into gloves, [but] very quickly we realized that actually having to put something on isn’t a very social experience. So many people don’t want to put something on to play a game, so we did some things where we put things inside of your hand where it would feel kind of like a glove, but not quite, that also is a little bit abstracted, it’s neat, has some really cool effects, but the move is kind of a balance of what people already understand of a controller.”
Perhaps, the world wasn’t ready yet to harness the power of the glove when it was released for the Nintendo. Maybe, this generation would’ve been more receptive. However, my memory of using the device is enough for me to be thankful that Sony didn’t fall into that same trap. What the PS Move is already promising for us, is exactly what most have been wanting to see and enjoy.
We’ll be looking forward to seeing the PS Move, and not a glove, hit stores this September.
