Mind Control Games Make A Comeback

As mind control toys, games and electronics position themselves to become the big ticket items of the holiday season, we children of the 80s can just sit back and smile, content with the knowledge that we’ve seen it all before.

But for you younger types, Boing Boing has a run down of this season’s big brain games. From Star Wars to neural mice, they’re all here, ready to move and impress with nothing but the power of thought. Well, not exactly. As BB’s Rob Beschizza notes, the same primitive control schemes of the 1980s are somewhat in place with these crude toys as well. Maybe next year we’ll have a real neural interface under the tree.

For you nostalgic types, there’s the Atari MindLink, pictured. Sadly, the profound box art of its solitary game couldn’t really hide the fact that it was Breakout with headgear. As such, the unit never officially made it into production. It lives on today, however, in gimmicky Star Wars-branded floating plastic ball games. [Boing Boing]