Why the Namco Guncon feels so much like an arcade gun.

[DJ_Izumi]

I got my Guncon about a month ago, I mean the real deal Namco Guncon NPC-103 for PlayStaton 1, none of that third party stuff.  I'm a huge light gun fan and the first thing I noticed was that when I held it it had that same feel of holding a gun in the arcade rather than that 'Cheap toy gun with a wire attached' feeling most for consoles have.  I don't know how to discribe it but there's just something DIFFERENT.

Now, I've never seen a 'Real' Namco Point Blank machine, just kit altered cabs with more generic guns but online recently I realized why the gun felt so much like an arcade gun.  The Namco Guncon for PS1 is based on Namco's molds for their arcade cab guns.

Here's the Namco gun for their Point Blank and Time Crisis cabs.
http://www.coinopexpress.com/products/parts/shooting_parts/Namco_Guns_877.html

The Time Crisis 4 mold is similar too.
http://www.coinopexpress.com/products/parts/shooting_parts/Time_Crisis_4_Gun_Assy_7548.html

Now, the top gun on the image here is the Namco Guncon for the PS1 for home use with the Guncon2 for PS2 below it:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/GunCon_1_and_2.jpg

Especially the rear half of the gun is strikingly similar!  There are obvious differences of course, Namco's arcade guns have a recoil function that the Guncon's don't for simplicity of design and cost reasons most likely.  The Front of the Guncon is differnet to leave a comfortable location for 'A' and 'B' buttons to control the games.
I've found that even the Namco Guncon2 for PS2 doesn't have that 'arcade feeling' in your hands even.

Too bad the Guncon1 has no known means to run on a PC and thusly in MAME.  The PlayStation -> USB adaptors for PC arn't compatable with the Guncon2 drivers that exist for PC.  However it does mean the Guncon shell could be kitbashed with different PCBs.  I've been thinking that the TopGunLCD guts might work well in the Guncon1 shell.

[Fozzy The Bear]

Actually they are vastly different.... Both in size and design. I own original Namco guns and a PS1 Namco gun. The real ones weigh much more, are built from stronger materials and are phisically bigger than the toy PS1 guns.  Not to mention that you need a very hefty power supply to fire the recoil on them. It's built like a giant sized pinball coil.

They actually don't feel alike at all when you have them side by side to compare and the PS1 guns do feel very toy like in comparison.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[DJ_Izumi]

I wasn't comparing them to their Arcade counter parts directly from Namco.  Since the arcade guns from Namco have a lot more gear inside them to operate the recoil and heavier plastics to survive the arcade.

However the Guncon I feel, feels like a lot of the non-recoil pistols you would find in arcades, much more than most light guns for consoles.