Strange Nintendo Accessories That Never Saw The Light Of Day

Nintendo is constantly experimenting with new peripherals that add new elements or alter the functionality of the company's various consoles. Throughout the company's history, Nintendo has released some interesting devices that show outside-the-box thinking, including the Game Boy Camera, Game Boy Printer, and the Nintendo 64DD. If these extremely niche products ended up reaching the general public, then it's wild to imagine just what didn't make the cut. 

It's a fun exercise to consider just what exactly makes a product "weird," as well. Some products, like Nintendo Labo, feel like they're for more of a niche demographic, regardless of how fun-looking they may be. Some peripherals have also been pushed into markets where gaming isn't often considered, which makes for a weird fit. Combining work with play, though may seem like a good idea at first, can end up making both things a worse experience. Some of the following products were eventually released as something greater, even if the bizarre prototypes sported primitive technology and janky designs. Here are some strange unreleased Nintendo accessories that never saw the light of day.

Out of all the things that players might expect from a Nintendo peripheral, a knitting machine isn't the first thing that would naturally come to mind. Though for Nintendo, a company famous for making odd choices to diversify its content, this isn't entirely surprising. The Nintendo Knitting Machine is arguably the oddest of a long line of peripherals, which would have created a strange fusion between knitting and gaming if it had been released. This strange device is an old peripheral that would work alongside the NES to help the user knit. According to a brochure shared by former Nintendo spokesman Howard Phillips, this device was "not a game; not a toy; not something a young girl can outgrow in three or six months or even a year." However, as many might have guessed, it seems that this product didn't have the universal appeal that Nintendo had hoped for.

It was supposedly targeted primarily at a female audience, attempting to get a "new" demographic interested in the system. The Nintendo Knitting Machine was meant as "a machine that interacts with the powerful Nintendo Entertainment System to actually knit sweaters: and not just one or two patterns but a multitude of different and unique designs." However, this extremely niche device has never seen the light of day. It appears Phillips wasn't the only person who wasn't all that excited about promoting the potential product. No matter how you slice it, this was always going to be a difficult sell for Nintendo, and it seems the company realized it. All that's left is a few photos of a potential prototype for the device.

Boasting games like "Wii Sports" and "Wii Fit," as well as accessories like the Wii Balance Board, the Nintendo Wii shifted gaming in a more health-centric direction for a period of time. One health accessory that would have perfectly followed this trend was the Wii Vitality Sensor. This device was essentially a heart monitor that could attach to the Wii Remote. The idea was that this device would help players learn about their own heart rate, making them more comfortable with their body and health as they exercised with the console.

Despite the fitness focus of the Wii, Nintendo seemingly decided there really wasn't a place for the Wii Vitality Sensor on the market. Aside from reading heart rates, this peripheral seems like it would have been useless for most games. The Nintendo Switch would eventually incorporate heart rate sensors through the Joy-Cons for use in games like "Ring Fit Adventure," but these functions have very few uses on the Switch otherwise. There was even less call for a separate pulse-monitoring accessory in the Wii era. I

n the end, the Wii Vitality Sensor was canceled due to quality, rather than its niche nature. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata explained to investors: "After a large-scale test of a prototype inside the company, we found out that for some people the sensor did not work as expected ... it is a little bit of a stretch to make it applicable to every single person."

A few of Nintendo's failed peripherals eventually turned into something much more impressive later down the line. This is true for Nintendo's unreleased Touch Panel Adaptor, which was designed to give the Game Boy Color touchscreen capabilities. However, the dark screen of the Game Boy Color made this product difficult to use, which may have led to its cancellation. This product would later be demoed for the Game Boy Advance SP before finally being implemented in the design of the Nintendo DS.

While this isn't the weirdest peripheral in the world, it's interesting to note how something that was once regarded as a potential failure could then go on to inspire Nintendo's highest-selling console of all time. It seems the only major thing that this peripheral needed was the assistance of a backlit screen to make using the touchscreen much easier. The SP version received a better internal reception, but the concept needed a few more years to truly shine as part of the DS. This just goes to show that not all failed products are bad ideas; some just need a little more time. In an interesting side-note, Masato Kuwahara (the original designer of this prototype) isn't totally sure that his product inspired the DS in the end. However, in a talk at GDC 2009, Kuwahara stated that he thinks this may have been the case.

While many of these failed peripherals are notable for their niche goals or bizarre designs, this potential product by Nintendo falls into so many different categories of weirdness. The PediSedate was marketed in a truly unexpected way: "a medical device to the doctor, and a toy to the child, the pediatric sedation headset blurs the border between procedure and play." This device was a pair of headphones and cup that would attach to the Game Boy Advance. While children were distracted playing games on the system, the peripheral would administer the anesthesia, allowing kids to peacefully prepare for a procedure. Though Nintendo was obviously trying to be helpful in the realm of medicine, PediSedate may have been a step too far outside the company's realm of expertise.

The PediSedate is already a bizarre device, but looking at the potential designs for the device brings everything to a whole different level. The large semi-clear plastic of the headset looks like some sort of futuristic breathing device. A large arm fits snugly over the mouth and nose, and would have been used to administer anesthesia. With all that being said, a study about the PediSedate found the device to be very effective. In the abstract, the authors reported, "At least 96% of the children who completed the study exhibited an excellent degree of sedation." Though this device is bizarre, it could have actually been quite useful — if it ever released.

Very similar to the Page Boy, the Work Boy set out to accomplish the task of combining work and play. This failed Nintendo peripheral plugged into the side of the Game Boy, and would function virtually the same as a keyboard. With this, the user would be able to perform their usual business functions, including sending emails, maintaining an address book, and much more. With only two confirmed prototypes, the project didn't make it too far before it was cancelled. However, one of the prototypes has been found, along with a reproduction of the original game cartridge, which allowed game historian Liam Robertson to test out the device. The product was originally set to release at a price of $79-$89, but Nintendo nixed its release during development.

It's been argued that the Work Boy may have simply been ahead of its time, but it's always a bit weird to see a Game Boy — a device generally used for fun — used for work. Plus, with such a teensy-tiny screen and keyboard buttons, using this device seems like a non-ideal scenario. Still, for fans who are curious to see how the system would have functioned, Robertson has produced an in-depth video showing just that.