Hyperkin, a video game peripheral maker and distributor based in Los Angeles, is creating a new light gun. Known as the ‘Hyper Blaster HD,’ it will be the device that can play light gun games on modern televisions and monitors.
Traditional light guns, such as the NES Zapper, work with the help of an optical sensor built into the tip of the gun’s barrel. When the trigger is pulled the gun scans the TV screen to detect light from on-screen targets, like the ducks in Duck Hunt. Unfortunately, with the phasing out of CRT monitors, which were the kinds of TV screens used before the late 2000’s, light guns have become unusable as they aren’t compatible with newer HDTVs.
The Hyper Blaster HD is a new light gun that will officially be announced at the 2019 CES (which starts tomorrow and runs until January 11), but they’ve made an early announcement to build up hype for its official announcement. We can expect more details then, but some early features teased include:
- Play Duck Hunt for the NES with a light gun on an HDTV (original Duck Hunt cartridge and NES required.)
- Includes special Hyper Blaster HD light gun.
- Includes Hyper Blaster HD Adapter to allow HDTV compatibility.
Meanwhile, they’ve also announced the ‘RetroN DIY’ for the SNES and the ‘RetroN S64 Console Dock’ for the Switch. The former will be sold as a kit and include:
- Raspberry Pi-compatible pre-soldered PCB.
- One (1) Raspberry Pi Zero.
- Four (4) mounting screws.
- Pre-soldered PCB features two controller ports.
- A SNES-compatible cartridge slot.
- A Debug button for the cartridge slot.
- Reset and Sleep Mode button for your Raspberry Pi.
The RetroN DIY kit includes instructions to build the unit and install the software, which will let players play SNES and Super Famicom games in 720p HD.
We can expect more details, like pricing and availability, during the CES as it runs through the rest of the week.