Bandai / Nintendo · 1986 · Famicom / NES
A floor mat of twelve pressure sensors that turned NES games into running, jumping and dancing. It began as Bandai's Family Trainer in Japan and sold half a million units in North America.
Bandai released the mat in Japan in 1986 as the Family Trainer. It consisted of twelve pressure sensors sandwiched between two layers of flexible plastic, and it had two sides: Side A with eight buttons and Side B with twelve numbered buttons, letting games use either a simpler or a more detailed layout. The accessory first appeared in North America as Family Fun Fitness, but that branding was withdrawn, and Nintendo acquired the rights and released it as the Power Pad in 1988. Its pack-in game, Athletic World, had players run, jump and hurdle by stepping on the mat, and World Class Track Meet — Nintendo's retitling of an earlier release — turned sprinting into frantic running on the spot. Other titles included Dance Aerobics, Super Team Games and Short Order/Eggsplode!, which in 1989 was Nintendo's last Power Pad release. Eleven games supported the mat in total. The Power Pad sold 500,000 units in North America. Its library was small, but the idea — a foot-operated controller that made physical movement the input — returned many years later in dance-mat games and in fitness software.