Any way to play old school light gun games on a modern TV?

[Scooter]

Some of my old favorites are light gun games on Genesis, Sega CD, Saturn and Dreamcast. Is there any way, any new peripheral perhaps, that can make a light gun to work with a modern TV? I do still have an decent CRT TV but it is relegated to the garage and there is certainly no room for it back in the house.

[Cronozilla]

There's no way to adapt the two technologies. Light guns rely on the way CRT monitors raster the screen and will only work with line counts from the 90s. There's no way to replicate that on an LCD or Plasma TV. In fact, it's so finicky, that they don't work on HD CRTs even.

The best we could do is create a new Light gun using IR (like the Wii remote, or Time Crisis 4's GunCon 4) and building some custom hardware so the original game thinks it's talking to a light gun.

And that's perfectly possible, but doesn't yet exist.

The NES Zapper would be possible to get working, but it's just a huge synchronization problem. So a lot of work would need to be done to figure out TV timing, NES timing, and zapper timing and some hardware to regulate the zapper to ensure everything happens in sync. Which isn't trivial. And even then it should work, but there's no guarantee.

[SpaceBooger]

I have a couple CRTs (flat tube/screen non HD) and Saturn and PS1 light guns do not register (official justifier). Any idea why?

[noiseredux]

In fact, it's so finicky, that they don't work on HD CRTs even.

this is exactly why I have a 150lb TV I need help moving out of my game room right now...

[nullPointer]

I would say this is definitely a genre in which the argument can be made that emulation is the most viable means of effective preservation and (modern) game play. IMO the AimTrak is probably the best piece of kit out there right now for this purpose, and is compatible with a great many emulators.

[marurun]

In fact, it's so finicky, that they don't work on HD CRTs even.

this is exactly why I have a 150lb TV I need help moving out of my game room right now...

Well, if you didn't live so damn not right here where I live...

[Forlorn Drifter]

I'd have to agree with NullPointer, emulation is the best option. A game store near to me, for a short while, had a Wii and a PC set up to work with a Wii controller set up to emulate the games, with the Wii controllers working as the light gun equivalent. It worked well, and the variety of shells/specialized Wii controllers allow for a wide variety of options in what you want your gun to look like, or how it will work, etc.

There was one that I really like, it is a pistol grip shotgun shell, pump action. I saw a review of it on CGR once, but I can't seem to find the video.

EDIT:It is the Wii Buckshot, which has an integrated nunchuck in it. I personally loved it, but it appears reviews are a bit mixed.

[nullPointer]

A game store near to me, for a short while, had a Wii and a PC set up to work with a Wii controller set up to emulate the games, with the Wii controllers working as the light gun equivalent.

Great point! I forgot to mention that I know a growing number of people that have reported great results using a Mayflash DolphinBar (Mmm ... DolphinBars) in conjunction with Wiimotes. Don't let the name fool you, as you can use it with many emulators beyond just Dolphin. One advantage here is that you may already have at least half of the prerequisite gear already on hand.

[Tanooki]

Wasn't it last year because of Smash they added Duck Hunt to the Wii VC (but oddly not the 3DS?) There's your legal form of emulation right there.