Insert Credit has unearthed some patents from the early days of videogaming that are.. special.
There are some great little nuggets here, from an early design for the Nintendo Powerglove — sorry, "Forearm mounted multi-axis remote control unit" — to a 'button presser' that lets you hit two buttons alternately by rolling the device back and forth. This sounds ridiculous, until you think about Track & Field.
There is even a slice of true console history in the form of a prototype for the first NES cartridge.
My favorite, though, has to be the SEGA racing controller/game pictured above that has an actual model car that moves left to right on a shelf in front of your TV. Come on SEGA, the time is right for this thing to see the light of day - bring it out on a current-gen console & you will clean up.
News: Old videogame patents [InsertCredit via Boing Boing Gadgets]