Talk:NES Zapper

Duck
How does the Zapper tell which duck you hit in two duck mode? Do they flash at different times? Borksamoht 23:35, 10 December 2005 (UTC)
 * It is explained in the article. First the screen is blacked, and then it will flash one frame per every "target", during each frame showing the white rectangle of every target. -- ReyBrujo 03:19, 17 May 2006 (UTC)
 * So in other words, that's a "yes". 67.168.100.237 (talk) 15:48, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Japanese version
Could someone upload a pic of the Japanese version? There's one at, someone should check the copyright on this, or maybe a Japanese user could take a picture of his own —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 85.28.65.75 (talk • contribs).
 * I'm not sure if it's really important enough to be on this page as well, but there is an image at Wild Gunman. Ben Kehoe / talk 22:03, 22 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Nevermind, there's one on this page! Ben Kehoe / talk 22:15, 22 July 2011 (UTC)

Game
I removed Track & Field II from the list of games that work with the zapper. I have had this game since 1989 and I have never seen any zapper compatible modes. I know various FAQ's floating around on the internet also make this claim, but I just checked and the Zapper doesn't work for the Clay Pidgeon Shooting event. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.174.251.120 (talk • contribs).

For some reason or another Track and Field II was readded to the list of working games with the Zapper, can anyone confirm the event that the Zapper works with?--Lietkynes65 15:27, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

I popped in Track and Field II and my zapper and it does not work. Track and Field II is not a zapper compatible game so I removed it from the list. The source of this misinformation seems to come from a FAQ fon gamefaqs.com, but even the faq writer is unable to confirm if the game works with the zapper or not. It doesn't.--Lietkynes65 15:33, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

Actually, there is one event in Track & Field II that you can play with the Zapper - just, it isn't the clay pigeon shooting. It's none of the events you play in the "regular" mode. I don't remember exactly, since it was very long ago since I played it, but I'm 100% positive that I have played it with the Zapper. I'm readding it to the list for now - going to check up on it when I get home... /KennyMan666 18:18, October 11 2006

I added Track & Field II to the list again. There are two exhibition events in the game. One is hang gliding and the other involves shooting people in an alley. The shooting exhibition event is the one that's compatible with the NES Zapper. 69.203.64.174 05:56, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

Cheating
It seems to me that the information in the technical overview section that pertains to the methods used to cheat with the device should be separated into their own section. While the ability to cheat with the gun is related to the way it works, those methods aren't built-in features that Nintendo intended when they designed it. So it is unencyclopedic to include it in the technical specifications section. --Harperska 23:23, 5 August 2006 (UTC)


 * The cheating illustrates how the system works, and also why it would be worthwhile to continue to use it today. I think because of the little information there is it's a good choice to let it remain.Kinglink 23:30, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

The article reads "A known glitch about the zapper is you can get a perfect hit score every time in some poorly programmed games by simply pointing the gun right next to and into a light bulb.", but none of the cited sources seem to support this claim. In fact, one of the sources cited states "For technical details, see www.howstuffworks.com/question273.htm [this link is one of the other sources cited], which includes a link to Nintendo's 1989 patent on the technology. The patent explains how the dark-to-light shift prevents you from cheating by pointing the gun at a steadily shining light source, a weakness of earlier light guns. ", in other words, the article suggests the Zapper was designed to avoid this very glitch. 130.243.210.167 (talk) 18:08, 5 March 2013 (UTC)


 * I checked and found out that last comment is definitely right. I corrected wrong information about the "known glitch" related with light bulbs. This information seemed to be supported by three references. But those references were originally referred to previous sentence (i.e., zapper not working on LCV TVs) before the wrong statement was added on 10 May 2012 by 173.167.163.13 (later revised on 19 August 2012 by 98.208.98.195). Indeed no! Those references were referred to even previous sentence ("This is how the game knows which target has been hit.", that is, referred to the whole process), before another clumsy edit by 75.81.254.49 on 6 February 2012. Well, that "known glitch" is false, as clear precisely from the third of those references (patent about how to avoid fake hits through bulb light detection). Further, a detailed research about it was carried out by "Roo-CotGW", reported in an instructional video on minute 9.24. On YouTube, the only related video tells this trick doesn't work, too. Googling, many other sources agree that the trick doesn't work, while I couldn't find any relevant one telling the opposite. Earlier light guns probabily had this problem, hence the myth. That zapper can be fooled by a light bulb is false, until proved otherwise. -- K ar.ma 13:00, 5 January 2014 (UTC)

How do it know?
So this shooter keeps hot things hot and cold things cold...how do it know? by that i mean...how does it actually work? keep live things live and shot things dead? Mercer5089 18:56, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

Track & Field II
I added Track & Field II to the list again. There are two exhibition events in the game. One is hang gliding and the other involves shooting people in an alley. The shooting exhibition event is the one that's compatible with the NES Zapper. 69.203.64.174 05:57, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

Can someone please upload a photograph of the Famicom Light Gun, the Japanese revolver version? I could not even find a picture on eBay of one.

Relevant quotes from books
I am inserting some relevant quotes from books regarding the Zapper which will be relevant for adequate sourcing in the article:

18 February 1984: Nintendo releases the Beam Gun for the Famicom. It is black and shaped like a Wild West-style gun; exactly like the version used for Wild Gunman in the arcades and similar to the Beam Gun cowboy toy sold by Nintendo in the 70s. Included in the ¥8,500 set is Wild Gunman; soon to follow are Duck Hunt and Hogan's Alley. The Beam Gun was never included with the Famicom like the Zapper was packaged with the NES in America; as such it is a rare collector's item today. People who played it [Nintendo's "Advanced Video System" prototype] liked the games, but retailers were not willing to try selling video games after the crash. Nintendo thus developed the Zapper light gun and a robot named R.O.B. (for Robotic Operating Buddy), two peripherals that were to be used with a handful of games but whose true purpose was to change the perception of the console from a "video game console" to a system that would allow people to play arcade games like Wild Gunman (1984) or Hogan's Alley (1984), or a technological robot toy.
 * From High Score! The Illustrated History of Electronic Games by Rusel DeMaria and Johnny L. Wilson:
 * From The Video Game Explosion: A History from Pong to Playstation and Beyond by Mark J. P. Wolf, page 109:

A light gun was also going to be sold with the unit for target games such as Hogan's Alley and Duck Hunt. MuZemike 22:16, 28 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Wolf, page 116:

Merger proposal
I propose that Quickshot sighting scope be merged into NES Zapper. The former does not display enough notability for an independent article, and it can be far better described in context of the NES Zapper. Please discuss below and indicate whether you support or oppose the merge. MuZemike 00:02, 29 January 2009 (UTC)

Note – I have also proposed a merge (or redirect) of Pro Beam Light Gun to NES Zapper. Please discuss in the same manner. MuZemike 00:25, 29 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Both merges sound like a good idea given the (heh) scope of their subject matter.--Kung Fu Man (talk) 04:28, 10 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Actually, there's barely anything to merge, a redirect for both pages sounds like a better idea.--ZXCVBNM (TALK) 06:42, 10 February 2009 (UTC)

Note — I have merged Quickshot sighting scope to NES Zapper. Still waiting on additional comment on Pro Beam Light Gun. MuZemike 17:40, 13 February 2009 (UTC)

Known errors
"The Zapper does not work on a LCD TV or a projector. It only works on a CRT TV." - this does not make sense. Cathode ray timing stops working under these circumstances, but that shouldn't prevent sequetial timing from working. The sentence "This is because the TV shoots the gun, and it is projecting out at the light." is just poor and generally incomprehensible. If the Zapper doesn't work on LCD TVs, the reason has to be something different than cathode ray timing. I'll remove the paragraph now, and I hope somebody with more knowledge can clarify why the Zapper doesn't work on LCD TVs (if indeed it doesn't). - Soulkeeper (talk) 09:38, 21 April 2009 (UTC)

While I can't tell you why, exactly, I can state from personal experience that it doesn't work on LCD TVs; tried breaking out Duck Hunt when my parents upgraded the TV a few years back. 67.188.142.77 (talk) 08:09, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * I agree with the initial assessment of the poor writing quality, but believe that "The Zapper does not work on a LCD TV or a projector. It only works on a CRT TV" makes as much sense as it needs to, because it is a verifiable fact. Cathode ray timing is irrelevant on an LCD television, since they are obviously not CRTs. Timing of horizontal and vertical rescan times are integral to the function of the Zapper. Updated this section in the article to reflect this. Mhoskins (talk) 16:55, 1 December 2009 (UTC)


 * For the record, I have a CRT HDTV, and the light gun does not work.


 * Like I said, vertical and horizontal rescan times are crucial to the gun working correctly. I'm guessing your CRT does something different than a standard-definition CRT. Mhoskins (talk) 14:32, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

I had the zapper for my NES back in 86 (when TV's were either CRT or projection. We had a CRT) and it didn't work. yes, it was plugged into the second port, like it was supposed to (and a second controller plugged in worked just fine in it) It did work on my friend's NES. So, I know it wasn't the gun. It was either the TV, the nintendo itself, or both. Actually, there was one instance where it would work, if I pointed at the bottom right corner of the TV, I could sometimes kill an outlaw in Wild Gunman, but not pointing it directly at him. The snare (talk) 02:06, 16 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Before this turns in to a "me to, I had one and..." thread, your personal experiences while valid for discussion are irrelevant to the passage in question. Likewise for the material that was discussing modding games or doing experiments - all beyond the scope of what the discussion page is for on Wikipedia.  Regardless, the entire passage needs to be sourced by reliable third party sources - any personal experiences and commentary here are simply WP:OR and risk further violating WP:NOTFORUM.  --Marty Goldberg (talk) 02:06, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Seemingly mistaken No Original Research tag.
In the first paragraph, someone has put the following: "but the North American version resembled a futuristic science fiction ray gun that also tied into the design of the NES.[original research?]"

There is no doubt from looking at the Zapper that it resembled a futuristic science fiction ray gun. There is no doubt that the colour scheme of the Zapper ties into the design and colour scheme of the NES. I believe that the person who put this original research tag here misinterpreted this sentence, and believed that the editor was saying the ray-gun inspiration for the Zapper tied in with the NES somehow. I believe that if it read "but the North American version resembled a futuristic science fiction ray gun with a colour scheme matching the NES." then any ambiguity is gone and the tag no longer belongs...

The only way I can see this staying is if anyone disagrees and thinks that stating the Zapper looks like a futuristic ray gun is original research, which I doubt is true. In any case, I will edit the article to clear that up. Ben Kehoe / talk 22:00, 22 July 2011 (UTC)

Orange to Gray color change rationale
I have reviewed the archive version of PDF on archive.org. This source itself is of questionable accuracy that appears to be self-published work, so I tagged it as dubious. This questionable reference reads that it was changed from grey to orange but does not give an explanation why. A sentence about US law explains the law, but does not specifically cover the NES gun. So while the self-published source says color was change and the US legal requirement site shows the US law, neither of these two make the connection that NES gun's color was a compliance move, so making up this conclusion does not follow our rules on WP:SYNTHESIS. Cantaloupe2 (talk) 00:23, 27 March 2013 (UTC)
 *  I think it was to make sure the NES Zapper would not violate the Federal Energy Management Improvement Act of 1988, §4.  Under it (according to Cornell University)
 * (b) Distinctive marking or device; exception; waiver; adjustments and changes (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) or (3), each toy, look-alike, or imitation firearm shall have as an integral part, permanently affixed, a blaze orange plug inserted in the barrel of such toy, look-alike, or imitation firearm. Such plug shall be recessed no more than 6 millimeters from the muzzle end of the barrel of such firearm. (2) The Secretary of Commerce may provide for an alternate marking or device for any toy, look-alike, or imitation firearm not capable of being marked as provided in paragraph (1) and may waive the requirement of any such marking or device for any toy, look-alike, or imitation firearm that will only be used in the theatrical, movie or television industry. (3) The Secretary is authorized to make adjustments and changes in the marking system provided for by this section, after consulting with interested persons.


 * If this helps any. --GAZ 21:49, 5 June 2013 (UTC)

The text of the article only states that early versions were gray, and it was later changed to orange, and does not at all cite the reason for the rationale, yet it's still marked as dubious. Anyone who grew up during that era knows and remembers this, but I'm not sure that that constitutes an accurate source. Would, perhaps, a scan of various catalogs of the times be considered canon? Would this be less dubious if in fact that article were changed to state, simply, that "a version with an orange body became available?"

Noting as well that the "dubious" tag is supposed to link to a "dubious" section on this talk page, and it doesn't, so I can't tell what about the statement is in fact dubious, leaving even the dubiousness to be dubious :)

Gushi (talk) 16:46, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

Hi guys. If you smarted up a little bit, you will realize that it's irrelevant whether the change from Orange to Grey was a "compliance" move. REGARDLESS of laws and compliance, it's reasonable to assume that the color was changed to make it less likely to resemble a real gun, which serves two purposes—it won't be mistaken for a real gun, and perhaps will not have violent connotations. Everyone who was alive at the time knows that orange gun came later than the grey gun. It's foolish to quote laws and legalese. Nintendo's change wasn't necessarily made from LEGAL pressure or legislation. It's not impossible that a corporation makes its own decision about a thing. Thank you for listening. 158.222.239.55 (talk) 22:41, 1 September 2014 (UTC)

+1 for color change statement being correct, but how to prove it? Scans of old catalogs? Manufacture date on example systems? 173.64.201.203 (talk) 22:15, 28 October 2014 (UTC)

The design of the Zapper.
In the article it says this...

"The Famicom version of the Zapper, made for the game Wild Gunman, resembled a revolver-style handgun,[1] but the North American version resembled a futuristic science fiction ray gun with a color scheme matching the NES."

While the Zapper is sort of a cartoony and very toy like gun, it actually appears to be modeled loosely on a real gun design. It seems to resemble a hunting pistol called the J.C. Higgins Model 80 .22LR, which had an odd look to it.

Here's a link to a photo of this gun.

http://www.ammoclip.com/images/JC_Higgins_80_oweners_cover.jpg

GreatAdthulhu (talk) 18:20, 16 April 2013 (UTC)

It also bears a more-than-coincidental resemblance to the Browning Medalist, a fairly well-known sport shooting pistol. I don't know if this is article-worthy, but figure it's at least worthy of a talk page mention.

Gushi (talk) 16:30, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

Citation for appearance in Terraria
I believe I found a source that can confirm its addition, but am unsure as to how I may properly cite it. This is a post on the Terraria forums page, by a developer of the Nintendo 3DS port. https://forums.terraria.org/index.php?threads/3ds-known-issues.37772/page-19#post-856857 To be more specific, he posted in reply to a user who said they got the item as a drop from the Plantera boss. PlanteraBlade (talk) 15:12, 14 November 2017 (UTC)