As consumers, us gamers are pretty quick to part with our cash for the latest hyped game, or the newest revolutionary console. Eager to capitalize on our apparent gullibility and easy wallets, certain manufacturers have thought up some pretty badly designed and straight up weird accessories and peripherals over the years. It’s no surprise most of these were a commercial disaster. We may be willing to part with our cash, but we sure are not dumb. Here are the five weirdest video game accessories.
GamerGrip Lotion
Free market capitalism is an odd beast. Anything and everything that can be thought up can be marketed and sold, yet when it comes to GamerGrip we feel things are being pushed a little too far. For the uninitiated GamerGrip is a lotion designed to improve hold of a controller for prolonged gaming session, ostensibly limiting slip by stopping your hands from sweating. It’s weird and we seriously doubt its efficacy.
Nintendo Parental Lock
Before the advent of digital safeguards against inappropriate content and how often games are played, parents had to resort to rather drastic solutions such as hiding away a console or straight up throwing it in the trash. That is until this nifty little number made an appearance. Designed to sit perfectly over the cartridge slot of of NES, this lock gave parents untold power in getting their children to bend to their will.
GameBoy Hip Clip
At a time when fanny packs and wearing socks with sandals was all too common a phenomenon, bright minds came up with the most kitsch accessory ever; the hip clip for GameBoy Color. Firmly and comfortably fixed to your swaying hips, you could safely stroll through life knowing your trusty handheld would always be by your side. However, your style would take a severe hit and of course you would have to completely forget a GameBoy Color can quite easily fit in your back pocket.
Resident Evil 4 Chainsaw Controller
Die hard fans of Resident Evil 4 were in luck, they could get their hands on a chainsaw shaped controller emulating the actions of the game’s protagonist. The only problem; the chainsaw was rather large, clunky, and went against the principles of actually controlling a game well enough to enjoy it with buttons seemingly placed without much thought as to their function. These babies can, however, fetch upwards of a couple hundred bucks on Ebay. If you’ve got one gathering dust at the back of a closet, it may be time to get it out.
Nintendo GameCube ASCII Keyboard Controller
Check out this monstrosity, I mean feat of modern design brilliance. The GameCube is fondly remembered by many a gamer, but definitely not for this keyboard/controller mashup, which is possibly one of the most ill-conceived aberrations ever. The controller was designed specifically for MMORPG Phantasy Star Online to allows players to chat with other players. Though having a keyboard was indeed practical, trying to play the actual game with a controller the size of a plank of wood was not. To boot, the server were only up for around 3 years after release and the controller really had no use other than for Phantasy Star. As a collectors item, the ASCII keyboard is however in high demand if only for the absurdity.
