i just saw on ACT LABS site that they will no longer be proucting light guns!

[bossyman15]

http://www.act-labs.com/products/gun1.htm

what the hell!?

if that's true then are there any other place that makes light guns and works with mame?

[aljupy]

are there any other place that makes light guns and works with mame? >>>Yes, there are two, thanks to god we do not need that "traitors". Look in this two Places:

1) http://erealgames.com/products.php

2)  http://xoomer.virgilio.it/smogdragon/   

[MnMCaputo]

I swear, this ceo for this company really needs to get a brain.

[ddockery]

Obviously, there's not a market for much volume, or they would still be making them. Profits are largely geared towards volume, as it's a hell of a lot cheaper per gun to make 1000 than to make 20.  Just because they are popular here doesn't mean they're popular.  This is a rather small niche hobby.  We're not a group a larger company is going to cater to.

[AlanS17]

Well they would have sold more if they didn't look like Marvin the Martian space zappers.

[RandyT]

My guess is that they have monitored the progress of the GunCon2 hack and figure it's only a matter of time before that's the route most of their potential market will be taking.

Hard to compete with a product as established and high-quality as the GunCon.

RandyT

[AlanS17]

You must have little faith in your own product if you believe a hack is actually better.

I would have paid $20 more for those Act Labs guns if they just weren't so ugly. I don't know why they never figured that out.

[Lilwolf]

I personally think they should start selling the guts in a form that can be hacked in the standard happs guns. 

Then they would sell a ton... without having to build anyting other then the optics + the board.

[Kremmit]

I personally think they should start selling the guts in a form that can be hacked in the standard happs guns. 

Then they would sell a ton... without having to build anyting other then the optics + the board.

A ton?  How many MAME guys do you think there are?  And how many of those care enough about lightgun games?  And how many of those are comfortable trying to attach the "guts" to a Happ gun case?  And of those, how may have the budget?  And of those...

I'd love to see it, but I have trouble believing there's a profit to be made.

[Chris]

I personally think they should start selling the guts in a form that can be hacked in the standard happs guns.

[RandyT]

You must have little faith in your own product if you believe a hack is actually better.

Well, my experience with light guns has shown that the GunCons are about as good as it gets, at least on the hardware side.  Once the software issues are squashed, I would suspect that some enterprising individual will come up with a way to make it plug and go.  Ie. not really a hack anymore (it is a USB device afterall), just an excellent gun that uses an adapter for PC use.

RandyT

[Smog]

My guess is that they have monitored the progress of the GunCon2 hack and figure it's only a matter of time before that's the route most of their potential market will be taking.

Act-lab announced last stock of guns before I released the first version of the driver. For sure you can't blame the stop in production to GunCon2Mouse project. And before my project none did anything on GunCon2 hack AFAIK.

I would suspect that some enterprising individual will come up with a way to make it plug and go

In fact it is how it works right now .. plug, install the driver, and go .. you only have to use a videoboard with tv-out and compatible (Original seems to have rolling-x problem) guncon2.

An hack is needed if yuo plan to use the gun with a VGA forced to 15Khz and you will never get rid of this unless you change the hardware in the gun ... can't help in anyway.

[AndyWarne]

I would not be at all surprised if there is not some hidden issue behind the Act-Labs decision. As people have mentioned, why go to the expense of developing a product, find a willing market and then withdraw it? I would suspect some patent issue maybe. There are a large number of patents covering light guns.

[u_rebelscum]

If you haven't noticed, Act-Lab also stopped manufacturing ALL their products.  No more steering wheel, no more pedals, no more shifters, either.

All they've become is a reseller.