Teens' reactions to 1989 Nintendo Power Glove are priceless

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Tuesday, February 10, 2015

At first, they thought it looked just brilliant. Then they tried to use it.

YouTube stars The Fine Bros. got 10 teenagers to try out the Nintendo Power Glove, a device one kid describes as "Wii before Wii." The futuristic-looking glove was a Nintendo product designed for the NES system and released in 1989. It was meant to replace a controller with hand movement - like a bulkier version of today's Wii accessories.

Tap here to watch the kids try to use Power Glove

The video appears as part of the Fine Bros. REACT series - a channel in which kids, teens and more react to different foods, games and videos.

Upon handing the teens the Power Glove, their questions include, "Is this old or is this new?" and "Is it going to electrocute me?" Although one teen actually recognizes it from a video game review website.

At first the teens are baffled as to how they've never heard of the Power Glove before.

"If you pair this with, like, the Oculus Rift, like, this is, like, next gen," one says. "This is like, the future right here... the past future."

But then they play some games, one of which, "Bad Street Brawler," was specifically designed for the glove. Raising your hand made the character jump, lowering the hand made the character duck, and pinching a thumb and pointer finger together was a punch. The teens seem perplexed as to why pinching would equal punching, but they give it a shot. And the frustration begins.

"I'm just like, moving my fingers. I don't even know what I'm doing," one says.

After playing, the teens are presented with the complex instructions to optimize the use of the Power Glove. More frustration.

"I'd rather press two buttons," one says, putting down the instructions.

One teen says she thought the Power Glove was so bad it probably made parents hesitant to buy Wii when it came out years later.

Then the teens are shown the ad that ran at the time of Power Glove's release:

Tap to watch the ad

"See now that looked like a fun time. Where's that Power Glove?" one asks.