Power Pad
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The Power Pad is a floor mat game controller released in the United States for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is a gray mat with twelve pressure-sensors embedded between two layers of flexible plastic.
Released in 1987 as the Family Fun Fitness pack for the Japanese Famicom Disk System.
It was originally developed by Bandai, but Nintendo soon bought the rights to it, and released it in 1988 as the Power Pad, along with the game World Class Track Meet.
The accessory is laid out in front of the video display for various games, generally plugged into the second controller port, with players stepping on the large buttons to control gameplay.
There are two illustrated sides to the pad: Side A, which is rarely used, has eight buttons, while side B has twelve buttons numbered from 1-12.
Games using the Power Pad often test players on their timing and coordination, memory, "running" speed, or allow them to play music with their steps.
Games such as Dance Dance Revolution can trace the lineage of their control mechanisms back to the Power Pad (see dance pad).
Game list
Few games were created that use the Power Pad due to lack of success, but here is a list of games that were developed for it (this list is not complete).
- Dance Aerobics
- Short Order & Eggsplode (2-in-1 cartridge)
- Street Cop
- Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt/World Class Track Meet (3-in-1 cartridge)
- Super Team Games
External links
- NES Times article (http://www.fortunecity.com/skyscraper/babbage/317/accesory/powerpad.html)
- GamersGraveyard.com article (http://www.gamersgraveyard.com/repository/nes/peripherals/powerpad.html)