light_gun

Other names: ガンコン

A specialized game controller, usually shaped like a gun and used to play target-shooting video games.

The light gun is so called because in its earliest forms, it used light sensors inside the shell to track "hits" on the targets. Light guns have been popular in arcade games such as Time Crisis (series), Point Blank (game), Virtua Cop, and The House of the Dead. They have also been popular in early home console games such as Duck Hunt, in addition to more modern home ports of arcade classics.

Traditionally, light gun controllers have been wired and permanently connected on arcade games; their home counterparts were wired and unpluggable. Nowadays, home light guns use wireless Bluetooth connections.