Gaming Wii's Zapper

[FranckKnight]

I was talking with someone about the Wii and different attachments, and came to talk about the NES Zapper. I had been wondering how it worked in reality, so I did a google on it, which linked to the Wikipedia and the Wii's upcomming Zapper attachment.

Its said that the attachment is 'thought' to be intented for NES Zapper and SNES Super Scope games, which makes sense, but at the same time I can't help and wonder about the difference in technology those two units had and how it will be implemented with the Wii's Virtual Console.

Thw Zapper basically had a system that makes the screen blinks and make a single bright white square that the zapper picked up with a photo-sensitive unit inside, which made it able to cheat by basically making your screen very bright or zapping at a light bulb directly.

The Super Scope used a system similar to the Wii's pointing device, that used a sensor on top of the screen to figure out where you shot on screen by calculating the distance between the center of the TV, the device and where you aimed at. Wii's controller are similar but add to the whole equation the tilt and angle of the controller to determine this, and use bluetooth to send the data to the Wii.

The main difference is, the Super Scope was a pixel-precise aiming device with this system whereas the Zapper was just approximations and could be tricked. The Zapper unit for the Wii looks like the orginal zapper, and I'm wondering if the aiming aids on it will be good enough for Super scope's pixel-precision. The fact that you wore it on your shoulder and had a very narrow targetting reticula made very precise.

I do hope that will be thought about when they make the Super Scope games on the Virtual Console. And here's hoping for the awesome Metal Falcon games

 

[fischju_original]

I loved the super scope! You just reminded me to buy one!

 

[Lily]

I don't believe that the zapper/super scope games will come to the Virtual Console. There is already a Duck Hunt-esque game in the "Wii Play" title..and unless the original zapper/super scope games are modified, they won't work with the Wii correctly.

 

[lagman]

*House of the Dead 4
*Lethal Enforcers 4
*Time Crisis 5
*Duck Hunt 2

That´s all I need.

 

[FranckKnight]

Yes, my info is what I read on the Wiki, but I would love to see some of those games on the Virutal Console still.

Its just for discussion's sake that I brought it up, as its obvious there will be some 'zapper' games on the Wii, the attachment has been long thought about after all.

I would think the Zapper would be hard to emulate because of the whole 'flashing screen' thing, but if PC emulators managed to do it, they can obviously find a work around as well.

The Super Scope, by its similar nature to the Wii's pointing device, shouldn't be be too hard to emulate, but they would need to find some attachments to make the Zapper more precise.

If you played the Super Scope games, you'll remember that a mere pixel was all you needed between a hit or miss, and some games liek Metal Falcon were amazing on that side as you had to try to hit fast moving targets that acted as weak points, and those target were sometimes 3 pixel wide.

 

[ugly_rose]

But why do we need those attachments anyway when we can point and shoot good enough with the wiimote

 

[lagman]

But why do we need those attachments anyway when we can point and shoot good enough with the wiimoteÂ

That´s what I though.
We just need modified roms.. :'(

 

[FranckKnight]

Well, for the feeling.

The attachment will have a trigger underneath and possibly buttons on top, which will be more precise in a way than using the remote as-is, while not impossible to play without it anyway.

But if its anything like the Nunchuk, they might give you the 'please hook up the attachment before proceeding' screen makes you unable to play without that attachment or something.

Also, from what I saw, the attachment itself doesn't have any aiming aids like the Super Scope had, so its certainly not as precise as the Super Scope, and those games did require pixel-perfect aim sometimes.

Games like Resident Evil Gun or Time Crisis don't need that precision in the way there were made. You don't usually need to target something 2 pixel wide to win.

 

[Lily]

The zapper attachment will help those people with shaky hands, etc. Like me, I have carpal tunnel in both wrists, and the Wii Remote can be tough to hold and point for long sessions. The attachment creates a bigger grip to hold on to, rather than the tiny remote. It will also help with accuracy, as I'm sure the attachment has a sight of some sort.