Power Pad
The Power Pad is a floor mat game controller for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is a gray mat with twelve pressure-sensors embedded between two layers of flexible plastic. It was originally developed by Bandai.
Bandai first released the accessory in 1986 as the Family Trainer pack for the Famicom in Japan, and later released in the United States. Nintendo released it in 1988 as the Power Pad, along with the game World Class Track Meet, which was a rebranding of an earlier game.
Overview
The Power Pad was originally released by Bandai as the Family Trainer in Japan in 1986, and as the Family Fun Fitness both in North America and Europe in 1987 and 1988 respectively. In 1988, Nintendo acquired the rights from Bandai for the accessory in North America and renamed it the Power Pad, with the remaining Family Fun Fitness mats recalled from stores. Bandai retained the rights to the product outside of North America. The Power Pad sold 500,000 units in North America.The Power Pad accessory is laid out in front of the video display for various games, generally plugged into the second NES 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 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.