The NES Zapper, NES Advantage, and NES Max worked just fine, but Nintendo used to have an issue with having great ideas for accessories that were too ahead of their time for the then current technology to follow through and/or to hit the cultural Zeitgeist full on: The Power Glove, The Power Pad, Konami Laser Scope helmet, The Roll & Rocker, The Knitting Machine, R.O.B., The Virtual Boy (not technically an accessory, but otherwise perfectly fits this list). There was indeed a time when more of their accessories fell into those later categories than the category of fully realized, truly functional accessories. Frankly, I'm surprised that didn't hurt the Nintendo brand more than it did back in the day.
The likes of The Power Glove , R.O.B., The Konami Laser Scope, The Roll & Rocker, and The Virtual Boy were fantastic ideas, but the then current technology wasn't there to execute that idea properly (i.e. The Oculus Rift is what The Virtual Boy should have and could have been, if the technology was available at the time).
The Nintendo Knitting Machine may have seemed rather goofy back then, but imagine if such a product were released in the current climate of ugly Christmas sweater hipster parties and 3D Printers? Clearly another idea ahead of its time!
Fortunately, this isn't a criticism that can be levied at Nintendo in the modern area (at least not to so great of a degree). E.g. Aside from a few issues with straps coming lose, the Nintendo Wii was a fully realized idea that was released at the perfect moment to hit the cultural Zeitgeist full on!
In fact, I feel like the time has arrived for Nintendo to revisit and properly, fully realize some of these ideas. After all, is the Nintendo Wii Fit Pad not what The Roll & Rocker should have been?
In particular, if Nintendo can get over the spectre of The Virtual Boy's failure: I would like to see them return to the virtual reality arena and release a fully released, worthy product to compete against The Oculus Rift!
