“I love the Power Glove… it’s so bad.” – Lucas (Jackey Vinson) in The Wizard.
In 1989, ‘bad’ was slang for cool and there was nothing cooler than the Power Glove. At least, that’s what a generation who believed its marketing thought. Developed by Mattel as an alternative controller for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), the Power Glove promised to bridge the human-machine divide through early VR mechanics. Just slip on the glove to control your favourite NES games. Except it didn’t really work - well, not in the seamless way the Nintendo-produced movie The Wizard (1989) promised. The Power Glove’s prototype, the DataGlove, did work, but to be affordable for consumers it was simplified and ended up just… so bad.
The famous Power Glove scene from The Wizard. Video via VG Legacy's YouTube channel.
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Collection
In ACMI's collection
On display until
16 February 2031
ACMI: Gallery 1
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
AEO177791
Curatorial section
The Story of the Moving Image → Moving Pictures → MI-08. Immersive Innovations → MI-08-C01
Measurements
55 x 340 x 180mm approx
Object Types
3D Object
Computer game equipment/Game
Materials
Sollid and flexible plastic with cloth/material backing.