GunCon

The GunCon is a series of light gun peripherals manufactured by Namco for use with their arcade and PlayStation console games. Primarily associated with the Time Crisis series, the GunCon allows players to aim and shoot on-screen targets, mimicking the experience of using a real firearm.

The original GunCon (released as the G-Con 45 in Europe and Japan) connects to the PlayStation console via controller port and video input/output cables. The video cables are necessary for the GunCon to accurately detect where the player is aiming on the screen. It works by reading the light emitted by the cathode-ray tube (CRT) television screen. When the trigger is pulled, the screen briefly flashes white, and sensors within the GunCon detect the position of the light, thus determining the player's aiming point.

Later iterations, such as the GunCon 2, were designed to work with newer generations of televisions and PlayStation consoles, including the PlayStation 2. The GunCon 2 notably utilizes USB connectivity. However, light gun technology is largely incompatible with modern display technologies like LCDs, LEDs, and plasma screens due to the different ways these displays generate images. As a result, GunCons and similar light guns are generally only functional with CRT televisions.