The Power Glove, it will go down in video gaming history as the epitome of a peripheral being so bad that it is actually quite cool! The Power Glove is a useless piece of kit that you can’t go without (Ed: Relax, put those pitchforks down, we love the Power Glove).
This oxymoron is not lost on gamers – there have been a number of terrible peripherals released over the years, some worse than others, but all equally desirable to have (Ed: who could also forget the unreleased Atari MindLink and the doomed Konix Multi-System!). We have managed to scrape the bottom of the peripheral barrel to bring you the coolest bad peripherals to add to your collection. Put on a bib and wipe that drool!
Peripheral: Sega Action Chair | System: Mega Drive / Genesis | Use: Control gameplay via leaning
Peripheral: Power Glove | System: Famicom / NES | Use:Super Glove Ball & Bad Street Brawler
Peripheral: Quickjoy Foot Pedal SV-129| Systems: Atari, Commodore & Amstrad | Use: Programming joystick functions to a pedal
Peripheral: Virtual Cushion | System: PC-Engine | Use: In game (b)ass force feedback
Peripheral: R.O.B. | System: Famicom / NES | Use: Gyromite & Stack-Up
Peripheral: Game Boy Pocket Sonar | System: GBP | Use: Sonar to locate fish
Peripheral: Sega BH-400 | System: Sega Mark III | Use: Hang-On handlebar
Peripheral: Menacer | System: Mega Drive / Genesis | Use: T2: The Arcade Game, Mad Dog McCree, Body Count, Who Shot Johnny Rock, Mad Dog II, Corpse Killer, Crime Patrol, Menacer shooting gallery
Peripheral: Aura Interactor | System: Various 16/32/64-Bit | Use: wearable force-feedback vest
Peripheral: Sega Activator | System: Mega Drive / Genesis | Use: infra-red motion detector for fighting games
image source: provided on demand