Nintendo Almost Made a Knitting Add-On for NES

A recently-surfaced 1980s brochure reveals that Nintendo nearly released a knitting add-on for the NES. Posted on the Facebook page of former Nintendo employee Howard Phillips, the brochure shows off the Nintendo Knitting Machine, a device that would have connected to the NES and allowed players to create and print their own designs.

“You're looking at the Nintendo Knitting Machine,” the ad reads. “It's not a game; not a toy; not something a young girl can outgrow in three or six months or even a year. It's 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.”

“The Nintendo Knitting Machine is just one more example of the innovative thinking that keeps Nintendo on the cutting edge of video technology," it continues. "And your customers on the edge of their seats. Of course we should probably mention that no other video game system offers anything even remotely similar. But why needle the competition?”

According to Phillips, original Nintendo of America president Minoru Arakawa asked him to pitch the peripheral to Toys R Us chairman Charles Lazarus in a live demo, which he humorously describes as “one of my least genuinely enthusiastic demos.” While no reason for the cancellation of the Knitting Machine has been revealed, Phillips added that it was shown off at the 1987 Winter Consumer Electronics Show to gauge retailer demand "and then forgotten."

Phillips also noted that while the Nintendo Knitting Machine was never released anywhere, pattern editing software was released in Japan in 1986 for the Famicom Disc System. While it didn't include a peripheral, Phillips said with a wink in the comments of the photo that "The Famicom Disc software alone was a 'hit' in Japan likely because every father who bought a Famicom Disc System purchased the knitting software too in order to help justify the purchase."

A bit of the Japanese knitting software can be seen below:

Source: Tiny Cartridge

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com