Gaming Accessories and Their Rich History

The development around gaming, computers, consoles, and gaming accessories since the 80s has been one of the fastest-growing and most fascinating industries for humanity, especially for us gamers. I was around 6 years old when the first console arrived at my house – a Super Nintendo with Super Mario World, only 2 years after its EU release. Since then, I have been lost in this fantastic world that just keeps giving and giving.

The Most Famous Gaming Accessories in Gaming History

Not all types of accessories will be included in this article at the moment, but there may be room to add these later. Especially Eye Toy for Playstation, various extras for Rock Band, as well as steering wheels and pedals for other games.

NES Zapper

We have to go back to the NES to introduce the first “gadget” and gaming accessories I never got, and I didn’t understand why until many years later. Who can blame a child for not understanding how economics work and why you can’t get everything you point at. The gadget I’m talking about is, of course, the undeniably cool NES Zapper. One of many gaming accessories we’ll never forget.

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The Zapper was originally released for the Famicom in 1984 and was re-launched with the NES in 1985 when it came to North America. Designed to resemble a revolver, it made headlines and news upon release. The NES accessory was compatible with a variety of games, such as Duck Hunt, Wild Gunman, Hogan’s Alley, and many more.

However, America chose to redesign this plastic gun, like it does for many other gaming accessories. The reason for the revision was that the gun law at the time required that toy guns should not look like real weapons.

Duck Hunt and the NES Zapper were at the top of many children’s wish lists, but sadly, Santa never brought one for me.

The GameBoy Pocket Camera & Printer

Gaming Accessories GameBoy Pocket Camera Printer

This nifty and fun accessory for the infamous GameBoy was first released in Japan in 1998, like everything else from Nintendo back in the days. The gaming accessories was intended as an extension for Mario Artist, as well as primarily being a toy for children.

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The camera mainly took pictures in grayscale and allowed you to edit them on the GameBoy so you could work on them later in Mario Artist or print them out through the GameBoy printer. This device printed with thermal paper, similar to how regular receipt rolls work. This was peak technology and prestige in 1998, for us who were children at the time atleast.

Nintendo 64 Peripherals

When the groundbreaking Nintendo 64 was released in 1996, it revolutionized the market and brought about a massive shift in the gaming industry that we will not soon forget. The leap from SNES with poor 3D projected on to a console it wasn’t originally designed for, to a dedicated 3D machine was a big step into the future with games like Zelda, Ocarina of Time, Banjo Kazooie, Mario 64, Golden Eye, and more. The Nintendo 64 had a plethora of gaming accessories, but we’ll focus on the three most important ones – the Expansion Pak, Rumble Pak, and Transfer Pak.

4MB Memory Pak

The Memory Pak was required for a few games, but the rest of the games also benefited from this little gadget as the “internal” RAM on the console increased to 8MB. Definitely a plus and one of the “must” have gaming accessories to have for all console gamers at the time.

Rumble Pak

The name speaks for itself, as most can imagine what this little device did. N64 gaming became a bit more immersive when the controllers shook during interactions in the games. The Rumble Pak served as a big leap for the future of recent gaming accessories.

Transfer Pak

For many, this was the game-changer of gaming accessories, as it allowed you to play GameBoy games on your console. This was the dream for those who transitioned from GameBoy to N64 and still had all the games in their drawer. Pokémon Red was by far the most used game in my time with this fine piece of craftmanship.

PlayStation Snacks

The giant in the game industry, Sony has also provided us with a diverse range of cool and useful gaming accessories for their consoles. Everything from memory cards, wireless controllers, microphones for Sing Star, Guitars and Drums for Rockband / Guitar Hero, and now impressive VR technology with PlayStation VR2. It should also be noted that Xbox also had Guitar Hero / Rockband, and much of the same as Sony.

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We will focus on some of the most important ones here. Sony was an extremely important player for the industry we are now familiar with. Innovative titles such as Final Fantasy, Tekken, Crash Bandicoot, Metal Gear, Gran Turismo, and many others made the childhood for the millennial generation very exciting.

Singstar

Singstar created a flood of sour voices and karaoke parties like no other. This phenomenon ran rampant for many years before it “finally” came to an end. I can proudly say that I participated in this by screaming like a person stung by a thousand bees at various youth clubs.

Rockband

Those who have played Rockband or Guitar Hero know what the picture shows. This world-famous trend is still going strong with the most loyal players it captured by force. Undoubtedly, this game has helped develop young and old aspiring musicians.

PSVR2

The company’s biggest achievement until recent – PlayStation VR2. This headset allows you to escape into a completely different reality where you can experience horror and terror or the most beautiful adventures. Have you never tried VR before? Then you have really missed out on an unforgettable experience. One of the greatest gaming accessories ever created.

Xbox and Microsoft

Although there are many more consoles and tons of gaming accessories, we feel compelled to end with Team Green in the console world. One of the biggest players, and companion through difficult times for many, they deserve all the recognition for what they have achieved since the beginning. Coming home from school to sit with your friends in a session that lasted from afternoon to way after midnight, was everything for many of us, we were hooked. Epic titles like Halo, Fable, Splinter Cell, and Star Wars: Kotor made the Xbox an immortal classic.

Xbox Kinect

We’ll start with what Xbox is perhaps best known for, namely Kinect. This little gadget was perhaps the most advanced technology of its time and is still used by many, including game developers. Launched in 2010, the Xbox camera quickly became a hit in many homes. The control consists of a camera and a microphone, which made it many people’s preferred communication medium via the console. Kinect was discontinued in 2017 as not enough games were made to utilize gaming accessories like this.

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Sniper Scope Light Rifle & Shotgun – Aka “The Stealth Scope”

The Sniper Scope was one of the more niche collectibles and gaming accessories we’ve come across from Team Green. Released in 2003 and only compatible with CRT-TVs, just like the NES Zapper, this product had a relatively short history. The few games we know that work with this collectible are House of the Dead 3 and Silent Scope Complete. If you were one of the lucky ones to experience this product, we would love to hear your story.

Controller Bonanza

The Xbox controller probably has the most variations, although PlayStation may possibly come in a good second place. Everything from unoriginal rip-offs to controllers with built-in keyboards, this product has the most variation. The Xbox controller has gone through many revisions since its release, some better than others, of course, but mostly always comfortable and ergonomic, as we expect from a console manufacturer.

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The upbringing, the memories, the consoles, the gaming accessories, the emotions, and the camaraderie that these giants provided for us, we will forever be grateful for. Thank you so much to Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, and all the others for an amazing childhood, youth, and future. Your history is set in stone, and may you continue all of your amazing work into eternity.