We're happy with on-rail shooters on the Wii. We enjoyed Resident Evil: Umbrella Chroncles, love to talk about Ghost Squad and we're definitely looking forward to House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return. We'd say the console is a pretty good place to look to for developers anxious to produce an on-rails shooter.Producer for Time Crisis 4, Teruaki Minami, thinks the new Guncon 3 is more advanced than the Wiimote, however. While we'll entertain his thoughts on how it's more advanced in the LED department (hint: it's got more of them), we're pretty confident that the Wiimote beats it on innovation and the fact that it is included with the system. But, we'll still allow him to state his case, as he claims "Guncon 3's LED markers are actually much more accurate. Much better than Nintendo Wii's controller. In the Wii, there are only two LED points, but for the Guncon 3 there are six LED points, so it is more accurate than the Wii."
OK, it's more accurate, but is it totally necessary? Can the average consumer even tell the difference?













Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-29-2007 @ 10:13PM
MemphisNET said...
The AVERAGE customer may not notice, but I want a Guncon. Bring the Time Crisis games over please! I missed them on PS2 (I don't have one... I stopped buying them after my 4th one died all the way back in 2002).
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11-29-2007 @ 10:15PM
Blast Processing Megadrive said...
I'm willing to agree that it is. If it's anything like the arcade version, where you point the gun is where the cursor ends up on screen. Not relative like with the Wii.
The problem is with the IF LED markers. Since Wii's sensor bar is placed above or below a TV, it never seems to be possible to get the cursor to line up exactly with the Wii Remote. Even with games like Twilight Princess that allowed you to adjust the vertical positioning of the cursor, it still never felt like I was exactly pointing at the screen.
I think the GunCon 3's LED sensors go on the side of the TV. This sounds like a better system to me (and was how the Wii's sensor bar(s) was originally like in the prototype phases).
But, alas, that's just the way things are.
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11-29-2007 @ 11:00PM
Jeff said...
I think they just wanted to justify the price. Oh and build another Guncon. I didn't buy a Guncon...I bought a chinese ripoff that works better....
If they port this game to Wii I will consider a purchase...but I ain't buying this package to play one game...oh and its in the arcade 1 block away for me.
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11-30-2007 @ 12:01AM
hvnlysoldr said...
Babelfish'ed: "Please I'm begging you to buy Time Crisis 4 with Guncon 3"
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11-30-2007 @ 12:18AM
Adv2k1 said...
my brain already been taught that i don't point toward the screen, so his maybe more accurate but it'll confuse the hell out of me. I don't care if its pointing toward screen, as long as its smooth and easy motions. RE4, Metroid Prime 3 great examples where I can care less if i'm pointing toward screen but damn its smooth and nice
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11-30-2007 @ 12:22AM
Marrvia said...
I'm just waiting for something to work with my projector at 110" accurately. I can play Wii, but I have to point at the sensor bar at the bottom of my screen. It works fine, but I want something that I can actually point to things on my screen accurately.
I have no interest in a light gun that works like a Wii Remote. I would never feel right to me. I want something like the Duck Hunt gun on NES on old analog tvs. Do bad they haven't figured out something for digital tvs and projectors yet.
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12-01-2007 @ 9:25PM
Kree said...
@Marrvia
It sounds like you need to build your own custom sensor bar. If you enlarge the space between the two sets of LEDs (or use two sensor bars with one side taped over like some people have suggested) so that their positions are relative to the size of your projector screen, the Wiimote will work much better.
11-30-2007 @ 2:12AM
Foxhound said...
Link's Crossbow Training uses an interesting system to calibrate the Zapper so that when you are aiming down the barrel of the gun, it is pointing where you aim. You basically tweak the speed of your left to right movements and adjust the cursor so it's in line with the gun. Works very well and actually makes me look forward to light gun style games with the Wii.
I'm sure with time, the calibration process will be more refined and accurate.
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11-30-2007 @ 2:43AM
SoshiKitai said...
Heheh, I'll be sure to play Wii Sports with the Guncon.
Jk... sure, it's more accurate---- so? If the Guncon wants to prove its worth, then bring it to the Wii and let it compete.
What does saying "I'm more accurate" do? Are they just boasting, or is that a challenge?
A useless point to point out.
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11-30-2007 @ 3:02AM
Duscrom said...
Does the average consumer care if a way to control a game, is more accurate? Especially a game.. SINGLE game that's not aimed at that demographic? That's a really stupi...... Ohhhh, this is WiiFanboy.. he dissed the Wii so he must be wrong.
I'm sorry, the lack of Accuracy is what bothers me about Wii. I miss the accurace of regular controllers. The "Close, but good enough" idealology of Wii's tech frustrates me. And for a SHOOTING GAME, where you're aiming a gun at something, I'd rather aim the gun, not the curser... That just kills part of the immersion. That's like saying. that the Wii Remote is more accurate for FPS then Analogue sticks... but does the average person care?.. Wait.. (looks at sales of Halo 3 compared to Metroid Prime 3) Hmmm, appearently not.. My bad.
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11-30-2007 @ 5:57AM
sam said...
Wait..(Looks at sales of Wii Compared to XBox 360 since Wii premiered.) Lets see. #1 Selling system in the world Nintendo DS. #2 Selling system in the world Nintendo Wii. Notice a trend there? Apparently (appearently??) some people aren't too bothered by it. This Guncon thing is for PS3 anyway why are you bringing Halo, the world's most overrated game of all time into this.? PS3, are they even still making those? I think they have sold less units than gamecube. Weird.
11-30-2007 @ 7:23AM
FunkyFlyChicken said...
For those of you who are hollering about the Wii and it's lack of accuracy, go actually play the light gun games. The Wii is perfectly fine with it's accuracy.
For FPS games, Metroid Prime 3, Medal of Honors Heroes 2, and many other games have shown that the aiming and movement can be very smooth and intuitive.
For Light Gun games, you need to look no further than Ghost Squad or even Zelda: Crossbow Training. Zelda's calibration is a bit convoluted (although not difficult, just not very intuitive imo), but Ghost Squad's is spot on. Shoot at each corner of the TV to calibrate, look right down the barrel of your Wii Remote/Zapper, and viola... Light Gun accuracy.
Actually play some games and know your facts before you try to spout stuff off...
11-30-2007 @ 8:44AM
Ihar `Philips` Filipau said...
In my experience most imprecision of WiiMote comes from the fact that you hold it in your shaking hands.
Time when I realized that, was the moment when I understood main difference of WiiMote with mouse: anytime in game you can release mouse and nothing would happen. WiiMote? In worst case it would hit your foot.
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11-30-2007 @ 9:40AM
TriptychR said...
My hunk of plastic is more deadly accurate than your hunk of plastic. Fer realz!
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11-30-2007 @ 9:57AM
troy said...
FunkyFlyChicken is right: Ghost Squad's got made response. I am afraid that I like the Wii and the Wii Zapper and I have almost all the light gun games for it and will definitely be getting more like House of Dead when they come out. Sure technically six is more than two so it must have slightly better calibration but then again it is ridiculously expensive and only works with games that don't have Link in them and Zombies and what not. You won't be able to play with a nunchuck to move while you shoot a gun con, you can't shake it to reload, and you can't feel like a pimp while it is both vibrating in your hands and making little 'shell flying out noises' with a built in speaker right on it. I'm sure its very accurate though... blah blah blah!
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11-30-2007 @ 10:14AM
LeChuck said...
I'm sure it is more accurate. Any device designed for one specific purpose like the Guncon will be better at it than something that does it as one of many functions like the Wiimote.
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11-30-2007 @ 10:17AM
Jeremy said...
I think the Wiimote does it's job at being accurate. Yeah it works best for TVs that are 32" or less but I have found that if you take two sensor bars (for example the one that came with the Wii and a wireless one) then space them out a bit for larger TVs and cover the inside parts (LEDs) it works better. I have used this on a 42" and it worked much better than just using the standard bar. It takes some tweaking but you can get it a lot more accurate for larger TVs than a single bar. Also I have seen another setup that worked really well for really big screen projectors were someone had mounted high intensity LEDs below the screen and adjusted the distance between the LEDs and the sensitivity of the Wii and perfected using it at long range (this was used on a 64" projection in a home theater).
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11-30-2007 @ 10:20AM
Ghaleon said...
It's good for other companies to challenge N's motion sensing -- I loooove the Wii and how it's changing games and the industry, but I want improved accuracy (and technology). I hope they can make it (or the next Wii) light-gun precise.
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11-30-2007 @ 11:13AM
BrandonIT said...
I'm glad to hear that's how Ghost Squad works for accuracy. I always thought that was exactly the way all light gun games should work. Calibrate it just like you calibrate a Smartphone or a DS. Shoot at each corner of the screen then shoot the center. Should yield acceptable accuracy for pointing.
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11-30-2007 @ 11:21AM
dann bohn said...
how about they put time crisis on the wii, and we find out?
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11-30-2007 @ 12:40PM
James said...
The difference is, the Guncon is a gun controller , while the Wiimote is a pointing-device controller that's sometimes used to shoot things. I *expect* the Guncon to be more accurate, but it would be a pain in the ass to play e.g. Zack and Wiki with it. If the Wiimote isn't accurate enough for a particular game, you know what? Give me a cursor. Make it optional, so I can choose if I want to go "hard core" or not.
Would it be nice to have the option of adding extra LEDs around my TV to make my Wiimote pointing more accurate? Sure, but I wouldn't do it personally -- I don't want to be forced to tape/sticky-pad/whatever extra crap on the sides of my HDTV.
I think the whole argument just boils down to a pissing contest, honestly.
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11-30-2007 @ 1:46PM
tiamat1990 said...
In terms of the pointer yes it is. You can point directly at the screen with the guncon compared to the Wiimote where you have to aim at the Sensor Bar instead.
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11-30-2007 @ 4:06PM
Matters said...
Give me a break. The guy is full of it. More LED's != More Accurate.
He didn't even know you could tilt the Wii Remote. Has he ever even used one?
What about the fact that the Wii Remote has Accelerometers to aid in its accuracy?
I can point the Wii Remote anywhere on the screen quite fine. To get more accurate we're probably talking fractions of millimeters. Does anybody remember the article talking about how accurate the accelerometers in the Wii Remote are?
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11-30-2007 @ 4:15PM
Matters said...
You mean towards the sensor bar not at it. All the remote needs the bar for is to know where the TV is at.
And the same thing is true for the new guncon. You have to point it towards LED sensors just like the Wii Remote. And it probably NEEDS 6 LED's because it doesn't have accelerometers to help track its motions.
"For the Guncon 1 and 2, those controllers are capturing the flashes from the standard definition TV, however, that method is not compatible with the latest high definition plasma and LCD monitors. So that is one of the reasons that we had to create a new Guncon. And, do work with all different kinds of monitors, we decided to introduce new LED markers - basically for Guncon 3 there is a little camera here [indicates the barrel of the gun] which is catching the position of the LED markers."
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11-30-2007 @ 4:16PM
Matters said...
"Basically it is the same, but Guncon 3's LED markers are actually much more accurate. Much better than Nintendo Wii's controller. In the Wii, there are only two LED points, but for the Guncon 3 there are six LED points, so it is more accurate than the Wii. The PlayStation 3 will be able to recognize the tilt of the Guncon 3, its distance from the monitor, and these things cannot be done with the Wii system."
Seriously. This guy has no clue what he is talking about.
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