GunCon The GunCon controller (known as G-Con 45 in Europe) uses the
cathode ray timing method to determine where the barrel is aimed at on the screen when the trigger is pulled. It features a button below the barrel on either side of the gun (buttons A and B, both performing the same function) for auxiliary in-game control, such as to take cover and reload in
Time Crisis. The controller is released in black in Japan, and gray (and eventually, in orange) in both Europe and North America. The controller is compatible with some PlayStation 2 GunCon titles, but is not compatible with
PlayStation 3 due to its lack of controller ports. Many games that support it allow the A and B buttons to be swapped, making it comfortable for both right and left-handed players. The GunCon connect to the PlayStation console not only via its standard controller port, but also into its RCA video output jack in order to read its video signals for better accuracy. For later models of the console (from the SCPH-5500 and onward), which lacked the RCA output ports and only featured Sony's proprietary AV output port, as well as the PS one models and all PS2 consoles, a PlayStation AV Adapter (SCPH-1160) or any generic AV extension cable is required to use the original GunCon on those particular models. The AV Adapter was also required for the earlier consoles if an RF connection was being used instead.
GunCon 2 GunCon 2 (G-Con 2 in Europe) features a smaller body, as well as a more rounded shape when compared with the original GunCon. The side buttons, A and B, have been moved rearward to a position directly above the trigger. Two new smaller buttons, SELECT and START, have been added to the left side of the shaft. Prominent additions to this second GunCon model is a
D-pad at the back of the gun barrel and a C button added at the bottom of the gun handle. These new buttons served to open new gameplay opportunities, such as character movement in
Dino Stalker or the ability to use two guns at once in
Time Crisis II. The gun uses a USB connection as opposed to a PlayStation controller port of the GunCon 1 and also hooks into the video signal of the console (either composite video or the Y signal of component video). The controller is released in black in Japan, blue in Europe, and orange in North America. It is not compatible with original PlayStation titles or PlayStation 3 titles. The GunCon 2, with compatible games, can work on
older models of the PlayStation 3 featuring any form of hardware-based PlayStation 2 backwards compatibility.
GunCon 3 The GunCon 3 utilizes two infrared LED lights as markers, placed on the left and right sides of the screen. An image sensor in the muzzle tracks the markers as reference points for determining where the gun is pointing on the screen. As opposed to the GunCon and GunCon 2, which are only compatible with
CRT-based displays, the GunCon 3 supports a wide variety of display types, including LCD and Plasma. The GunCon 3 features a "sub-grip", mounted underneath the barrel and extending to the left side for use with the left hand. On the sub-grip is an analog stick and two shoulder buttons, like in a modern gamepad. At the back end of the gun barrel is another analog stick and two buttons, B1 and B2, underneath. Another two buttons, C1 and C2, are placed along the left side of the barrel. The analog sticks allow the player to play first-person shooting games with manual aiming/firing of the light gun. ==Compatible video games with GunCon==