A bit of an update-
Shooting games and light guns. Right now there are really only two companies that are the only viable options to getting a light gun- ActLabs and EMS. Both have their pros and cons.
The other way some people have gone is to use a PS2 GunCon2 lightgun, but you have to have a TV because they have to tie into the video signal or the guns won't work... again some pros and cons. The GunCon2's work great, but using a TV with a PC isn't the greatest. For MAME a TV looks fine, and is actually pretty close to the old EGA/CGA resolutions, but if you plan on playing any newer games or any PC games, it's not going to look that good.
So lightguns are a bit of an ongoing issue. Right now the EMS LCD TopGun just got new beta drivers that are being said to work well and definitely better than the old drivers (which didn't work for most people at all). There is a current PC Mame Wii mote Driver project going on to develop a driver for the Wii mote. If that works (which it should) it opens up a ton of possibilities, some of which I'll show below.
Time to generate some excitement! (Warning, a ton of images)
EMS has new drivers that from what I hear seem to work very well. I am not making light of that at all, that is very good news. The Wii technology is also very interesting. It opens up a lot of potenial as well as 'cuts the cord' and will let us go wireless.
Most will opt for something like this... simple and easy yet not too bad looking.
Where the Wii really excites me is the potential to customize. As I mentioned in an earlier post, and others have also mentioned... airsoft guns! For those that may think I'm nuts or it's too hard or impractical-
This is the first one I ever saw someone do. Yes that is the Robocop gun, but it is actually based on a real gun, the automatic M93R. The biggest problem with this gun is although it looks cool, in reality it is way too front heavy. After five minutes of game play your hand would get tired pretty quick. (Robocop was a machine and just a movie
Movies tend to make lots of impractical things look really really cool!)
http://kotaku.com/gaming/wii/a-bangi...gun-233839.php
Next up is an excellent build and design. The only problem is the size. The AK47 is a large rifle and these airsoft guns are 1:1 scale. This is a very clean conversion, but again unless you are Arnold, Sly, or Jesse, this won't be fun to use for hours at a time that's for sure... but man would it be a cool novelty!
http://imakeprojects.com/Projects/wii-ak47/
This one is most excellent, but in a couple of ways a bit overkill. First he used a very expensive airsoft gun for this conversion. I skimmed through his blog and if I recall he did say he had problems with it as an airsoft gun, so using something this expensive would make sense if it was broken and no longer worked for it's primary use. Second I feel some things could have been done a bit easier, but overall this is excellent.
http://forum.bongofish.co.uk/index.p...c=1208.msg6715
Now keep in mind these are Wii guns for the Wii. If the PC Mame Wii mote project works (which it will) then it opens the door to a ton of options.
Rifles by far will be the easiest because of the room they have inside.
These are all of my guns waiting for electronics to be fitted inside.
Here is one I have that really has potential-
This a closeup of the LAM unit. The Wii mote electronics would fit nicely in here.
Here are some other M4A1 varients that also would make good Lightgun candidates. The last one is an actual version of the M16, the Patriot. What is nice about these over the AK47 is they are a bit smaller in size and the collapable stock really trims them down. Plus if you want, just pull the stock out for a full size shooter.
Here is one that is not only a unique gun, but also has tons of potential because of the enormous amount of room inside. This is the P90 (Stargate machinegun)
I also have a G3A3, but like the AK, this is huge (it is actually bigger than an AK47), so it's not something I would want to use for a lightgun. To give some size perspective, that's the Topgun shown to give an idea how big this thing really is.
I also have a Navy Seal MP5 coming, and this is an all around sweet gun. I held one at a local store and have also held the real thing before. This is one cool gun, but I don't have it yet.
Some of the very interesting potential and designs I have been working is to replace the Wii mote AA batteries with the USB rechargeable battery pack. This will easily fit in the magazine of an M16, and with some work should be able to be fitted in an MP5 mag. A 9V plug can be used like the guy in the link above used, but I like the idea of positive and negative metal contacts. Slide the mag in, contact is made, and you have power to the Wii! You could recharge the batteries by plugging in the USB cable, or just eject the mag, grab a clip that is already charged up, and slide it in and you have a fresh set of batteries all ready to go!