Someone hooked up a Power Glove to a Nintendo Switch – and it kind of works
Ever thought to yourself: “Wow, I love the Nintendo Switch, but I wish it had Power Glove support?” Yes? No? Well, wonder no more, as YouTuber Will It Work? managed to hook the infamous NES accessory up to a Switch, and the results were surprising to say the least.
Will It Work? demonstrated that, with an NES controller-to-USB adapter and some technical knowhow, it’s possible to play games on Nintendo Switch with the Power Glove accessory.
The video first shows off gameplay of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, wherein Will It Work? is able to use the Power Glove to move the player character by shifting the accessory in various directions.
The main event, however, is decidedly more impressive. Will It Work? showcases Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, played with the Power Glove by steering the kart as if holding onto a wheel. This is especially impressive considering Mario Kart Live makes use of real toy karts during gameplay.
Is the Power Glove really so bad?
It’s remarkable that someone managed to get such an old peripheral working on modern hardware, but it’s worth noting that for most people, connecting a Power Glove to a Nintendo Switch is far from a walk in the park. A good chunk of the YouTube video is dedicated to the setup process, which is fascinating, but clearly requires a degree of programming knowledge to get working properly.
It’s perhaps the best usage of the Power Glove we’ve ever seen, though. The infamous peripheral turned heads back in 1989 thanks to its unique appearance and its premise. It quite literally fits like a glove, and is one of the earliest examples of a motion controller peripheral brought to market.
Yet despite being an official Nintendo controller (and heavily promoted by the company itself), the Power Glove certainly doesn’t have the best reputation. The setup process for the device on NES was pretty obtuse, and eager young players quickly learned that it just didn’t work all that well with most games, quickly going back to those more simple, rectangular controllers.
Still, while notorious today, the Power Glove is unarguably an iconic device in Nintendo’s long history of hardware experimentation. And if nothing else, it’s a charmingly offbeat controller that was perhaps a little too ahead of its time.
Audio player loading… Ever thought to yourself: “Wow, I love the Nintendo Switch, but I wish it had Power Glove support?” Yes? No? Well, wonder no more, as YouTuber Will It Work? managed to hook the infamous NES accessory up to a Switch, and the results were surprising to say…
