Zapper
Light Gun
1989-1991 (manufactured)
1989-1991 (manufactured)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Nintendo had developed several light gun games during the 1970s. The Zapper was made for the Famicon/NES console (see B.598-2016), intended for use with games such as Duck Hunt (see B.600-2016), it was released in North America and Europe in 1985. In Japan, the Zapper was modelled as a realistic revolver, but this was changed to a futuristic ray gun design following concerns about it being mistaken for a real firearm. Its orange parts are a further development of these concerns, as it was felt the original two-tone grey could still ne too realistic from a distance. In total, there were seventeen light gun games made for the NES.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Zapper (manufacturer's title) |
| Materials and techniques | Injection-moulded ABS |
| Brief description | 'Zapper' light gun, for NES; Nintendo, Japan, 1989-1991 |
| Physical description | Gaming accessory, a light gun, made from light grey and red-orange ABS. It is shaped like a handgun, with a black plastic trigger and forward and rear sights. The trigger clicks when it is pulled. Inside the barrel is a clear lens. The light gun connects to a NES console via a long, black cable. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Mass produced |
| Marks and inscriptions | '©1985 Nintendo® / ZapperTM' (Printed along side of object.) |
| Credit line | Given by Alex Malloy |
| Object history | This object belonged to the donor Alex Malloy (b. 1980) and his younger brother when they were children. He later recalled 'I was a happy and very spoilt child. When I was very young I didn't have many friends and didn't like to play outside, so my parents and grandparents bought me LOTS of toys. As I got older my attention turned to computer games, particularly Nintendo... When my little brother came along he was even more spoilt than I was, so the toys and games really started to accumulate at that time.' It was given to the Museum in 2016 [2017/119]. |
| Historical context | Light guns are so-named because they use light to detect where the player is aiming. They were first developed in the 1930s following the development of light-sensitive vacuum tubes. They were soon used in arcade shooting games, where a hit could be scored by aiming the gun at a moving target mounted with a light sensitive tube. Nintendo released their first light gun in 1970. |
| Production | The Zapper was originally released in two-tone grey to match the colouring of the NES console. This was changed to orange and grey in 1989 following concerns that it could be mistaken for a real firearm at a distance. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Nintendo had developed several light gun games during the 1970s. The Zapper was made for the Famicon/NES console (see B.598-2016), intended for use with games such as Duck Hunt (see B.600-2016), it was released in North America and Europe in 1985. In Japan, the Zapper was modelled as a realistic revolver, but this was changed to a futuristic ray gun design following concerns about it being mistaken for a real firearm. Its orange parts are a further development of these concerns, as it was felt the original two-tone grey could still ne too realistic from a distance. In total, there were seventeen light gun games made for the NES. |
| Other number | NES-005 - Model number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | B.604-2016 |
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| Record created | February 17, 2017 |
| Record URL |
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