{"id":304756,"date":"2025-07-30T20:08:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T20:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/304756\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T20:08:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T20:08:14","slug":"gaime-light-gun-this-ai-powered-blaster-hits-the-target","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/304756\/","title":{"rendered":"G’AIM’E Light Gun – This AI-Powered Blaster Hits The Target"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"G'AIM'E<\/a> Image: Damien McFerran \/ Time Extension<\/p>\n

After years in the technological wilderness, light gun games<\/a> are making a long-overdue comeback.<\/p>\n

In what feels like a relatively short space of time, we’ve seen the Sinden<\/a>, Polymega GC01<\/a> and Gun4ir<\/a> hit the market, and now we can also add the G\u2019AIM\u2019E light gun<\/a> to that list. Produced by Japanese peripheral maker Tassei Denki under its G\u2019AIM\u2019E light gun-focused sub-brand (‘Aim’ \u2013 get it?), the big difference with this particular approach is that it reportedly leverages the flavour of the month \u2013 AI \u2013 to produce accurate results in a post-CRT world.<\/p>\n

While there were some who cast aspersions on this venture when it was first announced, the G\u2019AIM\u2019E has some serious pedigree behind it. Tassei Denki produces a staggering number of accessories in an OEM capacity and is arguably one of the world’s most successful ‘unknown’ hardware makers; there’s a good chance you already own a gaming controller made by the company without knowing it.<\/p>\n

\"G'AIM'E<\/a>The port of Time Crisis included here was developed by Bandai Namco exclusively for the G\u2019AIM\u2019E system \u2014 Image: Damien McFerran \/ Time Extension<\/p>\n

Tassei Denki came up with the G\u2019AIM\u2019E in the initial hope that it could partner with a console maker, but, having also contacted industry veteran Bandai Namco, struck upon a partnership which has proven to be quite profitable \u2013 the G\u2019AIM\u2019E currently sits at over \u00a3565,000 on Kickstarter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It seems that Bandai Namco wasn’t content to simply license its games for the G\u2019AIM\u2019E, which comes pre-loaded with a specially-developed port of the original arcade version of Time Crisis<\/strong>, as well as Point Blank, Steel Gunner<\/strong> and Steel Gunner 2<\/strong> (the latter three games being reserved for the ‘Premium’ and ‘Ultimate’ SKUs<\/a> of the device).<\/p>\n

Rather than simply hand over the ROMs and allow Tassei Denki \/ G\u2019AIM\u2019E to do as it wished, Bandai Namco actually handled the porting process itself<\/a>, even going as far as to draft in some of the staff who worked on the original Time Crisis to ensure it was as accurate as possible.<\/p>\n

A short calibration sequence is all that is required to get up and running \u2014 Images: Damien McFerran \/ Time Extension<\/p>\n

I was lucky enough to be invited down to London to try out G\u2019AIM\u2019E, and came away very impressed indeed. With the Sinden-powered Polymega gun<\/a> still fresh in my mind, the G\u2019AIM\u2019E feels incredibly close in terms of accuracy and responsiveness \u2013 but without the need for an unsightly border around the playing area.<\/p>\n

Instead \u2013 and this is according to Tassei Denki \u2013 the device has been ‘trained’ on over 3,000 different TV sets in order to deliver this kind of performance. I reached out to the company for a more detailed explanation of precisely how this AI works, and was told the following:<\/p>\n

\n

AI functions much like a seasoned expert – whether an art appraiser or a structural engineer. Through extensive training involving thousands of learning iterations, the AI develops a kind of intuitive judgment, shaped by experience rather than rote memory. When faced with new data, it doesn\u2019t retrieve a specific past example; instead, it draws on its internalised expertise to make direct assessments.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

In the case of recognising a \u201cscreen,\u201d the AI is trained on vast datasets to grasp key features – such as geometric shape, edge profiles, and pixel patterns. This training allows the AI to develop a deep, conceptual understanding of what defines a screen.<\/p>\n

When a new image is captured, the AI uses this learned knowledge to analyse it, identifying regions that exhibit screen-like features. It can then accurately determine the screen\u2019s boundaries and vertices within the image.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So, the AI can ‘learn’, then? Well, not quite. “The device does not learn your personal game play or learn as you play,” the Tassei Denki rep tells me. “The AI training and machine learning is more about the screen recognition, position and accuracy, etc. In other words, the learning would be tied with software future updates with improvement of accuracy via PC or mobile app.”<\/p>\n

The G\u2019AIM\u2019E is surprisingly sleek and will be easy to fit into your AV setup \u2014 Images: Damien McFerran \/ Time Extension<\/p>\n

A short calibration sequence \u2013 where you fire three times at six different points on-screen \u2013 is all it takes to get G\u2019AIM\u2019E up and running, and once you’ve done that, you can move around the room (within reason) and the accuracy remains pretty rock-steady.<\/p>\n

What’s remarkable about this setup is that it’s possible to use the G\u2019AIM\u2019E with a wide range of television sets, from small screens to 70-inch+ monsters. Heck, in the right lighting conditions, it’s even possible to use the G\u2019AIM\u2019E with a projector \u2013 this isn’t marketing fluff, either, as I was able to try it out in this configuration and performance remained impressive (the Sinden also offers this functionality<\/a>, I should add).<\/p>\n

To gauge how precise the gun was, I turned on the cursor option, which displays where the barrel is pointing on-screen (the only game this isn’t available on is Point Blank, at Bandai Namco’s behest). While there’s a slight delay in gun movement and the movement of the cursor, it shows just how accurate the HD camera-and-software approach is.<\/p>\n

\"G'AIM'E<\/a>The ‘Ultimate’ bundle comes with two G\u2019AIM\u2019E guns. Two-player action takes games like Point Blank and Steel Gunner to a new level \u2014 Image: Damien McFerran \/ Time Extension<\/p>\n

Just as is the case with the Sinden, there are caveats; the lighting around the TV needs to be spot-on, and if you’ve got any other screens surrounding the main TV, it will cause problems \u2013 but I’d say the accuracy is pretty much on par with that of the Sinden and the GC01, even at this pre-production stage.<\/p>\n

As for the hardware, the G\u2019AIM\u2019E is a more premium product than you might assume from looking solely at the promotional images. The gun feels solid and weighty, and there’s no noticeable flex when you grip the handle tightly. It’s also a close match to the original Namco arcade gun and the PS1 Gun-Con.<\/p>\n

The force feedback built into the gun is subtle, but welcome, and the pedal \u2013 included in the Premium and Ultimate packages \u2013 really brings Time Crisis to life. The box that powers the experience is surprisingly small, and apparently contains a bespoke chipset \u2013 another indication of how seriously this whole venture is being taken.<\/p>\n

The G\u2019AIM\u2019E works a wide range of displays, including projectors \u2014 Images: Damien McFerran \/ Time Extension<\/p>\n

It has a power and reset button, along with two USB-C ports on the front (for two guns, or a single gun and the pedal) and HDMI-out on the back (the G\u2019AIM\u2019E outputs in 1080p), along with a third USB-C for power. There’s no WiFi and no way of adding new games (well, at least not officially, anyway \u2013 who knows what modders will achieve when it finally arrives); the aim here is to make a product which is “plug and play” and as accessible as possible. As such, the G\u2019AIM\u2019E is aimed (no pun intended) at an entirely different market to the more hardcore-focused Sinden.<\/p>\n

What was stressed to me during the hands-on session is that the software side of the G\u2019AIM\u2019E is still under development, and the hardware itself is also going to undergo some changes; the braided cable will be changed to one with a rubber coating (something I’m slightly disappointed by, I have to admit), and it will be extended from 3 meters to 4.<\/p>\n

The only colourway available is the blue and orange variant due to various international laws about imitating firearms (Japan will be getting a black and orange gun), but to be honest, I think it looks better anyway, and mimics the classic blue gun seen on the original Time Crisis cabinets.<\/p>\n

Watch on YouTube<\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n

Subscribe to Time Extension<\/a> on YouTube3.0k<\/a><\/p>\n

I’ll reserve final judgment until I have a review unit in my hands, but I came away very impressed with the G\u2019AIM\u2019E; the hardware is robust and accurate, and Time Crisis plays fantastically well. Point Blank is also a very welcome inclusion, as are both Steel Gunner titles \u2013 sprite-based light gun games from time before Namco struck big with Time Crisis.<\/p>\n

What’s exciting about the whole G\u2019AIM\u2019E venture is that there’s clearly an appetite to apply the technology to a wide range of titles, systems and publishers, so we could see other devices pre-loaded with other light gun classics. Personally, all I want is a G\u2019AIM\u2019E with Time Crisis 2<\/strong>, but I guess that all hinges on this first attempt finding its audience \u2013 and on the evidence of the crowdfunding drive, that seems pretty assured at the moment.<\/p>\n

The G\u2019AIM\u2019E is currently on Kickstarter<\/a>. It launches later this year.<\/p>\n

\"Previous<\/a><\/p>\n

Prev<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Damien<\/p>\n

Damien has been writing professionally about tech and video games since 2007 and oversees all of Hookshot Media’s sites from an editorial perspective. He’s also the editor of Time Extension<\/a>, the network’s newest site, which \u2013 paradoxically \u2013 is all about gaming’s past glories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Image: Damien McFerran \/ Time Extension After years in the technological wilderness, light gun games are making a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":304757,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[112121,24524,2928,112122,25893,53,240,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-304756","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-gaime","9":"tag-hands-on","10":"tag-hardware","11":"tag-light-gun","12":"tag-previews","13":"tag-technology","14":"tag-time-extension","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114943997892184689","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/304757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}