Last year, I spoke to Charlie Cole, who came up with a way to play lightgun games on a flat-screen TV (originally called the “LCDZapper Pro”) using the Wiimote. His invention is now going through a “test run” and it looks like he’s added many improvements since we last spoke!
The kit starts as a $90 main box called the LightGunVerter. On the back is power, plus a composite video passthrough, via RCA “in” and “out” jacks.
There’s also a separate csync input, meaning RGB & Upscaler users can also utilize this solution, provided they find a way to split the csync output of their console.
On the front are two Ethernet “controller” ports. There are then two ways you can choose to play, which are very interesting…
First Method: Use the Wiimote
You can purchase $10 adapters for each console that simply allow you to use a Wiimote with the games. There are currently adapters available for the NES, Saturn and Sega Master System. Future adapters will support the PS 1&2, Guncon, Dreamcast and SNES. In my opinion, this might be the easiest method and there are lots of “gun” adapters for the Wiimotes out there that are very comfortable:
Auto Amazon Links: No products found. http_request_failed: A valid URL was not provided. URL: https://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?SearchIndex=All&multipageStart=0&multipageCount=20&Operation=GetResults&Keywords=B0094X227I|B072PRML19|B019W6QE8E|B01F19UHKC&InstanceId=0&TemplateId=MobileSearchResults&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US Cache: AAL_312d9abb432576d02bc164bfb8310e3b
Second Method: Use original light guns
You can purchase the $10 “universal” cable and use your original light guns by mounting a sensor inside the “barrel” of the gun. The downside of this method is affixing the Wiimote to whichever original solution you’re using.
Overall, this seems like a great way for people without access to CRT’s to experience and enjoy old light gun games on model TV’s! Hopefully I can follow up with a video review soon.
After this test run of 50 units has shipped and all final modifications are made, the LightGunVerter will be put into production and will hopefully be available early next year. For more information, check out the site: https://www.lightgunverter.com/
#lcdzapper, #charcole, #lightgun