Don't Touch: The Story of the U-Force

In 1989, the most anticipated new controller for the NES wasn't the Power Glove; it was the U-Force. Learn about the making of the device, its rocky road to retail, and the battle against the Power Glove.

CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
02:12 - Part 1: A New Way to Play
14:21 - Part 2: Under Pressure
27:12 - Part 3: Don't Touch

Follow Gaming Historian:

#UForce #NES #GamingHistorian

[GamingHistorian]

With this video, I have completed the holy trinity of NES controllers: Power Glove, Roll & Rocker, and now U-Force. What's next?

[beeto]

“You mean you have to use your hands?” “That’s like a baby’s toy!”

[taffysaur]

I recall AVGN being really confused as to how the steering stick worked, as it just sits in a little groove with no connection to the device. Thanks for explaining how that worked, it’s fascinating.

[sintalius]

I'm always blown away by how professional and deep your documentaries are. Gaming Historian truly stands out amongst the huge amount of video game content on YouTube.

[carlosfranceschy]

It’s always fascinating when you can contact the actual developer and hear their stories directly from them. Great job

[Cory_]

"We've GOT to beat the Powerglove." is the funniest statement ever.

[nicks]

In an alternate universe,
We’re all familiar with the phrase:

“I love the U-Force… Its so bad”

[VerdantRange]

It was a pleasant surprise to hear James Rolf in this.

[darktetsuya]

23:43 "if I had the U-Force to do over again, I would've designed games just for it" watching this made me realize it never DID have any dedicated games like the power glove did, that probably would've been a good way to show the other companies how to make the device work! I guess we'll never know how much it would've really helped, though. I had no idea that there WERE any games for it! guess that one just never came out since it was too late

[GreatFox]

I like this guy. He seems pretty genuine. Passionate about his work, and admits the mistakes made but learned from it. I guess enjoying people lighting up is the mark of a true toymaker.

[anton]

A bad day instantly turns into a great day when the Gaming Historian brings us a new episode!

[BenCol]

0:52 “If you’ve got hands, you can do this!”
As opposed to all those game controllers that don’t use your hands. Too long have foot-controlled video games dominated the industry!

[majorjoe]

Nerdiest of nerdy corrections: Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys didn’t use the Theramin, because the band found it too difficult to play. It used an electro-theramin, ET’s use a knob to alter the frequency, rather than the placement of the musician’s hands.

[AiakosVids]

I'm really happy to see you include interviews with developers. I feel like when it comes to video game peripherals (especially older ones) people tend to write them all off as soulless cash grabs from corporations looking to make a quick buck from gimmicks (although there's no doubt that lot of them were indeed just that), but I really like the way this video and the mega man DOS video specifically reframes these kinds of products in a way that's more conducive to their actual histories as passion projects.

[TRJ]

9:53 that is such an epic mullet, I can't even wrap my mind around what I am witnessing. So rad

[Monkey_SK]

I wonder if Josh kept to his word and never went back to a normal controller. Can see him now playing GTA5 with his U-Force.

[Poever]

Always the story with these NES era accessories: they were too early and the technology wasn’t ready

[Lost_n_Found_]

To paint a perspective: I was 8 years old when this thing came out, and I loved my Nintendo. But he's right, Mattel was a marketing juggernaut. The Power Glove was all we ever saw. We had no idea this thing even existed until many, many years later. Bummer.

[Tempora]

23:02 Broderbund learned the hard way that "If you build it, they will come" DOES NOT work with new game platforms, and the U-Force was basically a new platform. If the platform holder wasn't willing to risk their own money to make a game for their platform, why in the WORLD did they expect someone else to risk their money to make a game for them as a favor? It took them so long to realize this that by the time they did something about it at 28:44, the U-Force Power Games game that should have been made in tandem with the U-Force got cancelled.

[LTGiants]

Huge AVGN fan here, somehow just found your channel. You put a ton of research and effort into your videos and the quality really shows. I am so happy I now have hours and hours of videos to watch on your channel, thank you!!