Use in Video Games
The video game light gun is typically modeled on a ballistic weapon (usually a pistol) and is used for targeting objects on a video screen. With force feedback, the light gun can also simulate the recoil of the weapon. The first gun for a home console was in fact a big rifle, the Magnavox Odyssey's Shooting Gallery, which looked very lifelike and even needed to be "cocked" after each shot.
Light guns are very popular in arcade games, but had not caught on as well in the home video game console market until after the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Sega Master System (SMS), Mega Drive/Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) systems and Atari XEGS. Nevertheless, many home 'Pong' systems of the 70s included a pistol or gun for shooting simple targets on screen. Nintendo's NES Zapper for the NES, is arguably the most popular example of the light gun
Traditional light guns cannot be used on the newer LCD and plasma screens, and have problems with projection screens.
There are also light guns for Sega Saturn, Xbox and several other console and arcade systems. Recent light gun video games include Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, Time Crisis 4, Virtua Cop 3, and The House of the Dead: Overkill.
In 2007, Nintendo released the Wii Zapper for the Wii. A peripheral which is actually a plastic shell that houses both the Wii Remote and nunchuk for gun-style video games. While it does not contain any traditional light gun technology, the peripheral makes use of the Wii Remote's built-in infrared tracking system to shoot targets that correspond on-screen. Its name is a reference to the classic NES Zapper for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Sony have also released attachments that house the PlayStation Move motion controller in the form of a pistol and rifle, the latter named the Sharp Shooter.
Namco's GunCon 3 also uses an infrared optical sensor system similar to the Wii Remote.
Read more about this topic: Light Gun
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