Light-gun shooter, also called light-gun game or simply gun game, is a shooter video game

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

in which the primary design element is to simulate a shooting gallery by having the player aiming and discharging a gun-shaped controller at a screen. Light-gun shooters revolve around the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

shooting virtual targets, either

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.action or horror themes and some may employ a humorous, parodic treatment of these conventions. These games typically feature "on-rails" movement, which gives the player control only over aiming; the protagonist's other movements are determined by the game. Games featuring this device are sometimes termed "rail shooters", though this term is also applied to games of other genres in which "on-rails" movement is a feature. Some, particularly later, games give the player greater control over movement and in still others the protagonist does not move at all. On home computer conversions of light-gun shooters,

mouse A mouse (: mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus'' ...

has been often an optional or non-optional replacement for a light gun. Light-gun shooters typically employ "

light gun A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games, typically shaped to resemble a pistol. Early history The first light guns were produced in the 1930s, following the development of light-sensi ...

" controllers, so named because they function through the use of light sensors. However, not all "light-gun shooters" use optical light guns, but some may also use alternative pointing devices such as positional guns or motion controllers.

Mechanical Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

games using light guns had existed since the 1930s, though they operated differently from those used in

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s. Throughout the 1970s mechanical games were replaced by electronic video games and in the 1980s popular light-gun shooters such as '' Duck Hunt'' emerged. The genre was most popular in the 1990s, subsequent to the release of '' Virtua Cop,'' the formula of which was later improved upon by '' Time Crisis''. The genre is less popular in the new millennium, as well as being hampered by compatibility issues, but retains a niche appeal for fans of "old school"

gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game. The term applies to both video games and Tabletop game, tabletop games. Gameplay is the connection between the player and the game, the player's overcoming of challenges, and t ...

Definition

"Light-gun shooters", "light-gun games" or "gun games" are games in which the protagonist shoots at targets, whether antagonists or objects, and which use a gun-shaped controller (termed a "light gun") with which the player aims. While light-gun games may feature a first-person perspective, they are distinct from

first-person shooter A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre, video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a First person (video games), first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through t ...

s, which use more conventional input devices. Light-gun games which feature "on-rails" movement are sometimes termed "rail shooters", though this term is also applied to other types of shooters featuring similar movement. The light gun itself is so termed because it functions through the use of a light sensor: pulling the trigger allows it to detect light from the on-screen targets.

Design

Targets in light-gun shooters may be threatening antagonists such as criminals,

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

s or

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folkl ...

s,Virtua Cop
, ''IGN,'' July 7, 2004, Accessed Feb 27, 2009Jeff Hayne

''IGN'', Nov 19, 2007, Accessed Mar 29, 2008Anderson, Lark

''GameSpot,'' Mar 29, 2008, Accessed Feb 27, 2009 or they may be inanimate objects such as apples or bottles.Fielder, Lauren
Point Blank Review
''GameSpot,'' Dec 23, 1997, Accessed Feb 27, 2009 Although these games may be played without a light gun, the use of more conventional input methods has been deemed inferior. Light-gun shooters typically feature generic action or horror themes, though some later games employ more humorous, self-referential styles.Davis, Ryan
Ghost Squad Review
''GameSpot,'' Nov 28, 2007, Accessed Mar 1, 2009
Archived
from the original on October 10, 2012. Light-gun shooters primarily revolve around shooting large numbers of enemies attacking in waves. The protagonist may be required to defend themself by taking cover, or by shooting incoming thrown weapons, such as axes or

grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

s. The player may also compete against the clock, however, with some games also featuring boss battles. Games may also reward the player for accurate shooting, with extra

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

power-up In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a Game mechanics, game mechanic. This is in contrast to an Item (game), item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that ca ...

s or secrets. Games which do not pit the player against antagonists instead feature elaborate challenges constructed mainly from inanimate objects, testing the player's speed and accuracy. More conventional games may feature these types of challenges as

minigame A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements and is often smaller or more simplistic than th ...

s. Light-gun shooters typically feature "on-rails" movement, which gives the player no control over the direction the protagonist moves in; the player only has control over aiming and shooting.Anderson, Lark
The House of the Dead: Overkill Review
, ''GameSpot,'' Feb 14, 2009, Accessed Feb 27, 2009 Some games, however, may allow the protagonist to take cover at the push of a button. Other games may eschew on-rails movement altogether and allow the player to move the protagonist freely around the game's environment;Reed, Kristan
Resident Evil Dead Aim
''

EuroGamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...

,'' July 29, 2003, Accessed Feb 27, 2009 still others may feature a static environment.Casamassina, Matt
Controller Concepts: Gun Games
, ''IGN,'' Sept 26, 2005, Accessed Feb 27, 2009 Light-gun shooters use a first-person perspective for aiming, though some games may allow the player to switch to a third person perspective in order to maneuver the protagonist.

History

Mechanical and electro-mechanical precursors (1900s to early 1970s)

Gun games had existed in arcades before the emergence of electronic

video games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

. Shooting gallery carnival games date back to the late 19th century. Mechanical gun games first appeared in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

's amusement arcades around the turn of the 20th century, and before appearing in America by the 1920s. The British "cinematic shooting gallery" game ''Life Targets'' (1912) was a mechanical interactive film game where players shot at a cinema screen displaying film footage of targets. The first light guns appeared in the 1930s, with the Seeburg Ray-O-Lite. Games using this toy rifle were mechanical and the rifle fired beams of light at targets wired with sensors.Ashcraft, p. 145 A later gun game from Seeburg Corporation, ''Shoot the Bear'' (1949), introduced the use of mechanical sound effects. By the 1960s, mechanical gun games had evolved into shooting

electro-mechanical game Electro-mechanical games (EM games) are types of arcade games that operate on a combination of some electronic circuitry and mechanical actions from the player to move items contained within the game's cabinet. Some of these were early light gu ...

s. A popular sophisticated example was ''

Periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...

'' (1965) by

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company founded in 1955. It operated video arcades and amusement parks globally, and produced video games, films, toys, and arcade cabinets. Namco was one of the most influential c ...

and

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

, with other examples including ''Captain Kid Rifle'' (1966) by

Midway Manufacturing Midway Games Inc. (formerly Midway Manufacturing and Bally Midway, and commonly known simply as Midway) was an American video game company that existed from 1958 to 2010. Midway's franchises included ''Mortal Kombat'', '' Rampage'', ''Spy Hunte ...

and ''Arctic Gun'' (1967) by Williams. The use of a mounted gun dates back to a Midway mechanical game in the 1960s. Between the late 1960s and early 1970s, Sega produced gun games which resemble first-person light-gun shooter video games, but were in fact electro-mechanical games that used rear image projection in a manner similar to a

zoetrope A zoetrope is a Precursors of film#Modern era, pre-film animation device that produces the illusion of motion, by displaying a sequence of drawings or photographs showing progressive phases of that motion. A zoetrope is a cylindrical variant of ...

to produce moving

animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

s on a screen. It was a fresh approach to gun games that Sega introduced with ''Duck Hunt'', which began location testing in 1968 and released in January 1969. It had animated moving targets which disappear from the screen when shot,

solid-state electronic Solid-state electronics are semiconductor electronics: electronic equipment that use semiconductor devices such as transistors, diodes and integrated circuits (ICs). The term is also used as an adjective for devices in which semiconductor electr ...

sound effects, and a higher score for head shots. It also printed out the player's score on a ticket, and the sound effects were volume controllable.

2D and pseudo-3D light-gun shooter video games (1970s to mid-1990s)

Throughout the 1970s, electro-mechanical arcade games were gradually replaced by electronic video games, following the release of ''

Pong ''Pong'' is a 1972 sports video game developed and published by Atari for arcades. It is one of the earliest arcade video games; it was created by Allan Alcorn as a training exercise assigned to him by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, but B ...

'' in 1972, with 1978's ''

Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Taito for Arcade video game, arcades. It was released in Japan in April 1978, with the game being released by Midway Manufacturing overseas. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed s ...

'' dealing a yet more powerful blow to the popularity of electro-mechanical games. In the 1970s, EM gun games evolved into light-gun shooter video games. Light guns used in electronic video games work in the opposite manner to their mechanical counterparts: the sensor is in the gun and pulling the trigger allows it to receive light from the on-screen targets. Computer

light pen A light pen is a computer input device in the form of a light-sensitive wand used in conjunction with a computer's cathode-ray tube (CRT) display. It allows the user to point to displayed objects or draw on the screen in a similar way to a to ...

s had been used for practical purposes at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

in the early 1960s. The

Magnavox Odyssey The Magnavox Odyssey is the first commercial home video game console. The hardware was designed by a small team led by Ralph H. Baer at Sanders Associates, while Magnavox completed development and released it in the United States in September ...

home

video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can typically be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally ...

in 1972 had a light gun accessory, in the production of which

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

was involved. In the arcades, light-gun shooter video games appeared in 1974, with Sega's ''Balloon Gun'' in August and

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...

's '' Qwak!'' in November. The use of a mounted gun in arcade video games date back to

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, Toy, toys, arcade cabinets, and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, Vending machine, vending machines, and Juk ...

's ''Attack'' (1976). However, light-gun video games were not able to achieve the same level of success as their earlier electro-mechanical predecessors until the mid-1980s. Light-gun video games became popular in arcades with the Nintendo VS. System arcade releases of '' Duck Hunt'' (1984) and '' Hogan's Alley'' (1984), with ''Duck Hunt'' also becoming popular on

home consoles A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. While initial consoles were dedicated units with only a few game ...

following its 1985

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

(NES) release. Light guns subsequently became popularly used for video games in the mid-1980s.When Two Tribes Go to War: A History of Video Game Controversy
, ''GameSpot,'' Accessed Feb 26, 2009 In the late 1980s,

's arcade hit '' Operation Wolf'' (1987) popularized military-themed light-gun rail shooters. ''Operation Wolf'' had

scrolling In computer displays, filmmaking, television production, video games and other kinetic displays, scrolling is sliding text, images or video across a monitor or display, vertically or horizontally. "Scrolling," as such, does not change the layout ...

backgrounds, which Taito's sequel '' Operation Thunderbolt'' (1988) and Sega's '' Line of Fire'' (1989) took further with pseudo-3D backgrounds, the latter rendered using Sega Super Scaler arcade technology, with both featuring two-player co-op gameplay. SNK's '' Beast Busters'' (1989) supported up to three players and was a modest success. Midway's arcade hit '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991) combined ''Operation Wolf'' scrolling with ''Operation Thunderbolt'' and ''Line of Fire'' two-player co-op along with the use of the use of realistic

digitized Digitization is the process of converting information into a digital (i.e. computer-readable) format.Collins Dictionary. (n.d.). Definition of 'digitize'. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english ...

sprite graphics. In 1992,

Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...

's '' Lethal Enforcers'' further popularized the use of realistic digitized sprite graphics in light-gun shooters, with digitized sprites remaining popular in the genre up until the mid-1990s. Midway's '' Revolution X'' (1994) was a Three-player co-op game with digitized graphics like their earlier hit ''Terminator 2''. In 1995, Konami released '' Crypt Killer'' (''Henry Explorers'' in Japan), which supported up to three players and was a modest success.

3D light-gun shooters (mid-1990s to 2000s)

Sega's '' Virtua Cop,'' released in arcades in 1994, broke new ground, popularized the use of 3D

polygons In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon' ...

in shooter games, and led to a "Renaissance" in the popularity of arcade gun games. Like ''Lethal Enforcers'', the game was inspired by the

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

film ''

Dirty Harry ''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American action-thriller film produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry (film series), ''Dirty Harry'' series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first appearance as San Francisco Polic ...

'' as well as a coffee advertisement in which a can of coffee grew larger in a gun's sights. In ''Virtua Cop'' the player had to shoot approaching targets as fast as possible. The acclaimed '' Time Crisis'' by Namco, released for Japanese arcades in 1995 and ported to

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

console in 1996/1997, introduced innovations such as simulated

recoil Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, for according to Newton's third law the force requ ...

and a foot pedal which had to be depressed in order to attack and, when released, caused the protagonist to take cover. The game's light gun controller, the GunCon, was also acclaimed.Ashcraft, p. 147 Namco also released ''Gun Bullet'' for Japanese arcades in 1994 and was ported as '' Point Blank'' for the PlayStation in 1998, a 2D sprite-based game featuring a unique minigame structure and quirky, humorous tone. The game was critically acclaimed and received two sequels, both for the arcades and the PlayStation console. In 1995,

Atari Games Atari Games Corporation was an American producer of arcade video games, active from 1985 to 1999, then as Midway Games West Inc. until 2003. It was formed when the coin-operated video game division of Atari, Inc. was transferred by its owner Wa ...

released the successful ''

Area 51 Area 51 is the common name of a highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range in southern Nevada, north-northwest of Las Vegas. A remote detachment administered by Edwards Air Force B ...

'' arcade light-gun game, which featured red and blue HAPP 45. caliber pistol-like light guns and the use of

full-motion video Full-motion video (FMV) is a video game narration technique that relies upon pre-recorded video files (rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models) to display action in the game. While many games feature FMVs as a way to present information duri ...

(FMV)

pre-rendered Pre-rendering is the process in which video footage is not rendered in real-time by the hardware that is outputting or playing back the video. Instead, the video is a recording of footage that was previously rendered on different equipment (typ ...

graphics. Some games attempted to incorporate elements of

(FPS) or

survival horror Survival horror is a Video game genre, subgenre of horror games. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical action games through limited ammunition or weapons, health, speed, and visio ...

games through the use of less restricted character movement or exploration, with varying degrees of success.Remo, Chris
Time Crisis 4 Review
, ''Shack News'', Nov 21st 2007, Accessed Mar 29, 2008 Between 1996 and 1997, 3D light-gun shooters gained considerable popularity in arcades. Popular arcade light-gun shooters at the time included Sega's '' Virtua Cop 2'' (1995) and '' The House of the Dead'' (1997), Namco's ''Time Crisis'', and ''Police Trainer'' (1996). The most successful light-gun

horror game A horror game is a video game genre centered on horror fiction and typically designed to scare the player. The term may also be used to describe tabletop games with horror fiction elements. Unlike most other video game genres, which are classif ...

series is '' The House of the Dead'' (1997 debut), the popularity of which, along with ''

Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known as in Japan, is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...

'', led to zombies becoming mainstream again in

popular culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art

f. pop art F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distributi ...

or mass art, sometimes contraste ...

. In 1998, Midway released their third successful light-gun game called '' CarnEvil'', which featured over-the-top black comedy humor, the use of the shotgun-like light gun which pumps to reload, and the use of blood and gore like ''

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of fighting game, fighting video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The original ''Mortal Kombat (1992 video game), Mortal Kombat'' arcade game spawned Lis ...

''. Light guns were suppressed for a time in the United States after the 1999

Columbine High School massacre A school shooting and attempted bombing occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators, twelfth-grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 13 students and one teach ...

and its attendant controversy over video games and

gun crime Gun-related violence is violence against a person committed with the use of a firearm to inflict a gunshot wound. Gun violence may or may not be considered criminal. Criminal violence includes homicide (except when and where ruled justifiable ...

. Since the late 1980s, light gun controllers have been generally manufactured to look like toys by painting them in bright colours. In Japan, which lacks the gun crime found in the United States and in which civilians cannot legally own guns, more realistic light guns are widely available. Light-gun rail shooters began declining in the late 1990s as FPS games became more popular. Light-gun shooters became less popular in the 2000s, with new games in the genre seen as "old school", such as Raw Thrills' '' Target: Terror'' (2004) and ICE/Play Mechanix's ''Johnny Nero Action Hero'' (2004).

Wii Revival (2006 to 2014)

The genre went dormant for a period but experienced a small renaissance with the release of the Nintendo Wii in 2006. The system's controller, named the

Wii Remote The Wii Remote, colloquially known as the Wiimote, is the primary game controller for Nintendo's Wii home video game console. An essential capability of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with an ...

, popularized motion-based gameplay. With the release of the Wii Zapper and third party light gun shells, various developers took the opportunity to release various light gun games on the platform, including ''Ghost Squad: Evolution'', Gunslingers, Dead Space: Extraction, The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return, The House of the Dead: Overkill, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles and Wild West Guns. Sony responded by releasing the

PlayStation Move is a Motion controller, motion game controller developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Initially released in 2010 for use with the PlayStation 3 home video game console, its compatibility was later expanded to its successor, the PlayStation ...

, a motion-based controller for the PlayStation 3 that could also be fitted into a light gun shell called a PS Move Sharp Shooter. This accessory allowed developers to also release light gun games on Sony’s platform. Additionally, Namco released the GunCon 3 for the PlayStation 3, which was supported by

Time Crisis 4 ''Time Crisis 4'' is a 2006 light-gun shooter video game developed by Namco Bandai Games and Nex Entertainment , formerly known as GAU Entertainment and , was a Japanese video game developer originally established in 1992. It developed games f ...

, Time Crisis: Razing Storm and Deadstorm Pirates. The '' Time Crisis'' and '' House of the Dead''

franchises Franchise may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Media franchise, a collection of related creative works, such as films, video games, books, etc., particularly in North American usage * "Franchise" (short story), a 1955 short story ...

continued to receive acclaimed installments, with the arcade machine for the latter's '' House of the Dead 4 Special'' featuring large screens enclosing the player, as well as swivelling, vibrating chairs. Incredible Technologies/Play Mechanix released '' Big Buck Hunter'', which was highly successful and spawned a number of sequels and console ports. Sega released '' Ghost Squad'' in 2004, notable for featuring unique machine guns with realistic recoil and an additional trigger for other in-game actions. The light gun shooter genre fell out of popularity on home consoles when the industry transitioned from the Wii and Playstation 3 to Wii U and Playstation 4 in 2014. Other factors which contributed to this declining popularity includes incompatibility with modern high-definition televisions.

VR Revival, Arcade & PC Emulation (2014 to Present)

The light gun genre is maintained in virtual reality, arcade and PC emulation. Various VR games with light gun gameplay elements are released regularly after the release of Oculus Rift in 2016, such as Space Pirate Trainer, Operation Wolf Returns: First Mission, Zombieland VR, Blood & Truth
Under Cover
and more. Despite the decline of the arcade industry, arcade continues to see periodical exclusive light gun releases such as Jurassic Park Arcade and Time Crisis 5 in 2015, Point Blank X in 2016, House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn in 2018
Elevator Action Invasion
in 2021 an
Enter the Gungeon House of the Gundead
in 2023. On PC, various companies offer light gun hardware solutions for light gun enthusiasts, such as Sinden Light Gun
Ultimarc Aimtrak
an
Retroshooter
in addition to retrofitting classic light gun hardwares for consoles such as Wiimote with Mayflash Dolphinbar an
Gun4IR
Besides emulating classic light gun games, players can also find modern light gun releases on Steam, such a
RailbreakBangBang PewPewBioCrisis
an
Blue Estate The Game
The

Joy-Con Joy-Con are the primary game controllers for the Nintendo Switch, a hybrid video game console. A set of Joy-Con consists of two individual units, each containing an analog stick and an array of buttons. They can be used while attached to the mai ...

of the

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

have been used as a light gun substitute for various games, such as '' The House of the Dead: Remake'' (2022), though they are less precise than the Wii Remote due to their sole reliance on gyroscopic sensors for aiming. In June 6, 2025, Bandai Namco is supporting Tassei Denki in creating the G’AIM’E, a light gun that can be used on modern TVs with built-in games like Time Crisis, Point Blank, and Steel Gunner.https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattgardner1/2025/06/06/namco-backed-ai-powered-light-gun-brings-time-crisis-to-modern-tvs/

Notes

References

* {{VideoGameGenre Video game genres