GunCon
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The GunCon (gray; top) and the GunCon 2 (orange; bottom) for the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, respectively |
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Manufacturer | Namco |
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Type | Light gun controller |
Generation | Fifth generation era (1), Sixth generation era (2), and Seventh generation era (3) |
Retail availability | December 3, 1994 (PSX) GunCon 1 March 4, 2000 (PS2) GunCon 2 November 11, 2006 (PS3) GunCon 3 |
Connectivity | DualShock port, DualShock 2 port, motion sensing |
The Guncon[1] (often spelled "GunCon", a portmanteau of "Gun Controller"), known as the G-Con in Europe, is a family of light gun peripherals designed by Namco for the PlayStation consoles.
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[edit] Background
The first Guncon (G-Con 45 in Europe) (Sony ID: SLEH-00007) was bundled with the PlayStation conversion of Time Crisis. A second version of the Guncon, known as the Guncon 2 (G-Con 2 in Europe), was bundled with the PlayStation 2 conversion of Time Crisis II. Time Crisis 4 came out for the PlayStation 3 bundled with the Guncon 3[2][3][4][5] (G-Con 3 in Europe[6]).
Prior to the Guncon, the Konami Justifier was the first light gun peripheral for the PlayStation and a few games support it. With the exception of the North American localization of Elemental Gearbolt and Maximum Force,[7] games that support the Justifier are not compatible with the Guncon and vice versa.
[edit] Differences
Both the Guncon and Guncon 2 utilize the special memory chip behind the lens of the muzzle to change and refresh the image every time the player moves the muzzle to other areas of the screen—allowing the gun to be accurate every time the player utilizes it.
The Guncon 3 utilizes two infrared LEDs as markers, placed on the left and right sides of the screen. An image sensor in the muzzle tracks the markers as reference points for determining where the gun is pointing on the screen. As opposed to the Guncon and Guncon 2, which are only compatible with CRT-based displays, the Guncon 3 supports a wide variety of display types, including LCD and Plasma.[8]
The Guncon features a supplemental button on each side which performs only one additional function. The Guncon 2 has three buttons and a directional pad on the back of the gun which can have more than one function.
The Guncon 3 features a "sub-grip", mounted underneath the barrel and extending to the side for use with the left hand. On the sub-grip is an analog stick and two shoulder buttons, like in a modern gamepad. At the back end of the gun barrel is another analog stick and two buttons underneath. Another two buttons are placed along the left side of the barrel. The analog sticks allow the player to play first-person shooting games with manual aiming/firing of the light gun.
In regards to appearance, all Japanese Guncon 3 controllers feature a black coloring, though due to US toy gun laws, the US/PAL release of the Guncon 3 controllers are molded of bright orange plastic (this also applied to the Guncon 2, which was orange in North America and blue in Europe). This controller has been criticised for being uncomfortable for left-handed gamers.
[edit] Games supporting the Guncon
This section talks about various PlayStation games compatible with one or more versions of Namco's Guncon controller. See the complete list of light gun games on the PlayStation 2 for a complete list of light gun games.
[edit] Guncon compatible games
The Guncon 2 is not compatible with the Playstation as it has no regular PS-port but USB only, meaning the following games only work with the original Guncon.
- Elemental Gearbolt
- Endgame (PS2 game that supports both Guncon and Guncon II)
- Die Hard Trilogy 2: Viva Las Vegas
- Ghoul Panic
- Guncom 2 (PS2 game that supports both Guncon and Guncon II)
- Gunfighter: The Legend of Jesse James
- Judge Dredd
- Maximum Force
- Mighty Hits Special
- Moorhuhn series
- Point Blank series
- Rescue Shot
- Resident Evil: Survivor Japanese and PAL versions only.[9]
- Time Crisis
- Time Crisis: Project Titan
- Time Crisis II (PS2 game that supports both Guncon and Guncon II)
- Vampire Night (PS2 game that supports both Guncon and Guncon II)
[edit] Guncon II compatible games
Some Guncon 2 (PS2) games are compatible with the original Guncon, unless the game utilizes the extra buttons on the Guncon 2.
- Death Crimson OX+ (JP)
- Dino Stalker
- Endgame
- Guncom 2 (EU)
- Gunvari Collection + Time Crisis (JP)
- Ninja Assault
- Resident Evil: Dead Aim
- Resident Evil: Survivor 2 Code: Veronica (EU)
- Starsky & Hutch
- Time Crisis II
- Time Crisis III
- Time Crisis: Crisis Zone
[edit] Guncon 3 compatible games
[edit] See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: GunCon |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: GunCon 2 |
[edit] References
- ^ http://timecrisis3.namco.com/news/details/?6
- ^ Brown, Christopher (2007-11-20). "Time Crisis 4 + GunCon". Allgame.com. http://www.allgame.com/cg/agg.dll?p=agg&sql=1:52277. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ McWhertor, Michael (2007-03-26). ""Time Crisis 4 Coming To PS3? Yeah."". Kotaku.com. http://kotaku.com/gaming/ps3/time-crisis-4-coming-to-ps3-yeah-247276.php. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ ""Namco's latest update to the much-loved shooting series exposed in this set of shakycam gameplay videos - plus PS3 conversion plans leaked?"". Games.kikizo.com. http://games.kikizo.com/news/200601/127.asp. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ ""Lightgun shooter heading to Sony's console, claim US retailers"". Computerandvideogames.com. 2007-03-26. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=160616. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ TIME CRISIS 4 PRESS RELEASE 12 Jul. "TIME CRISIS 4 PRESS RELEASE". Three Speech. http://threespeech.com/blog/?p=487. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ Gerstmann, Jeff (1997-09-30). "Playing Maximum Force is a one-time deal". Gamespot.com. http://www.gamespot.com/ps/action/maximumforce/review.html?sid=2548237&om_act=convert&om_clk=gsupdates&tag=updates;title;1. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ Kohler, Chris (June 13, 2007). "How The GunCon 3 Will Work: It's a Wiimote". Game|Life. Wired. http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/06/how_the_guncon_.html. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
- ^ “The Wrong Kind of Scary: Worst Horror Games Ever,” Game Informer 186 (October 2008): 120.
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