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Laser Clay Shooting System
The Laser Clay Shooting System (レーザークレー射撃システム) is a light gun shooting simulation game created by Nintendo in 1973. The game consisted of an overhead projector which displayed moving targets behind a background; players would fire at the targets with a rifle, in which a mechanism of reflections would determine whether or not the "laser shot" from the rifle hit the target.
The concept behind the Laser Clay Shooting System came from Hiroshi Yamauchi, while Gunpei Yokoi was behind the development of the system. It was released in deserted bowling alleys in Japan in 1973; upon release, it was a commercial success, but the success of the system quickly evaporated as a result of the 1973 oil crisis and the ensuing recession in Japan, which left Nintendo ¥5 billion in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy. In 1974, Yamauchi, in an attempt to revive Nintendo, released a smaller, cheaper version of the Laser Clay Shooting System, titled "Mini Laser Clay". Deployed mostly in arcades, players shoot moving targets, provided by a 16mm film projector, at an arcade cabinet. This system featured several games and achieved significant success for Nintendo throughout the 1970s, which helped the company out of its financial situation.
The laser shooting idea was subsequently taken up by other manufacturers. The principle of a laser gun, which fires beams of light at a reflective target, inspired pigeon clay shooting simulators, where the pigeon clays are replaced with reflective flying disks. The product of this type was an analogue system developed by UK company Lasersport. In the early 2020s, a digital laser clay shooting system was developed by SLR Games, also a UK manufacturer.
The Laser Clay Shooting System was a shooting simulation that was present in many former bowling alleys in Japan. In the simulation, players fire their laser rifles at moving targets produced by an overhead projector. A series of reflections determines whether or not the target was hit by the "laser shot"; when a hit is registered, the projector displays a picture of a destroyed target.
The Laser Clay Shooting System was redesigned in 1974 and was renamed "Mini Laser Clay". This game would be displayed in arcades as opposed to bowling alleys. Mini Laser Clay consisted of two shooting ranges in which up to four players could play simultaneously. Players would pay ¥100 to shoot ten clay pigeons with two shots per pigeon; players would "pull" each clay pigeon by stepping on a button near their feet. High scores would earn players tokens which could be exchanged for prizes. Cheaper models of Mini Laser Clay featured single players who would shoot targets, projected by a 16mm film, at an arcade cabinet with a revolver.
The idea for the Laser Clay Shooting System Game started in 1971, when Hiroshi Yamauchi read a newspaper article about shooting (also referred to as "Ball Trap") competitions. He then asked his assistant Gunpei Yokoi about the possibility of using their current product, the "Opto-Electronic Gun SP", for shooting simulations. Days after Yamauchi's request, Yokoi asked Yamauchi to buy him a rifle for the purposes of designing an "electronic Ball Trap simulation" by using the rifle as a prototype. Assisting in the development were Masayuki Uemura and Genyo Takeda. The project was approved in 1971 and was dubbed the "Laser Clay Shooting System".
Yamauchi wanted to see shooting simulations developed in deserted bowling alleys in Japan; bowling in Japan was a 1960s fad which was replaced by karaoke by the end of that decade. The first Laser Clay Shooting System was unveiled to the public in early 1973, despite technical setbacks which were fixed in extremis on the same day it was unveiled. Nintendo proceeded to buy out deserted bowling alleys in various strategic locations, in which they were fitted with the simulation system. Costing between ¥4 and ¥4.5 million to install, each system included overhead projectors which displayed airborne targets behind a mountainous or forest landscape, and a mechanism that consisted of reflections which detected whether or not the "laser shot" hit the flying target on the projector.
Yamauchi was successful in the first few weeks of operation, as his "test locations" were running at capacity. In February 1973, with imminent success of the Laser Clay Shooting System, Yamauchi established a new Nintendo subsidiary, Nintendo Leisure System Co., Ltd., to handle the maintenance and orders of the system. He then continued to buy out more former bowling alleys and fitted them with Laser Clay Shooting Systems, and the subsidiary had many pre-orders for them. As a result, the factories dedicated to building these systems were running at capacity around the clock in order to meet public demand. Advertising for the Laser Clay Shooting System featured Japanese actor and martial artist Sonny Chiba.
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Laser Clay Shooting System
The Laser Clay Shooting System (レーザークレー射撃システム) is a light gun shooting simulation game created by Nintendo in 1973. The game consisted of an overhead projector which displayed moving targets behind a background; players would fire at the targets with a rifle, in which a mechanism of reflections would determine whether or not the "laser shot" from the rifle hit the target.
The concept behind the Laser Clay Shooting System came from Hiroshi Yamauchi, while Gunpei Yokoi was behind the development of the system. It was released in deserted bowling alleys in Japan in 1973; upon release, it was a commercial success, but the success of the system quickly evaporated as a result of the 1973 oil crisis and the ensuing recession in Japan, which left Nintendo ¥5 billion in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy. In 1974, Yamauchi, in an attempt to revive Nintendo, released a smaller, cheaper version of the Laser Clay Shooting System, titled "Mini Laser Clay". Deployed mostly in arcades, players shoot moving targets, provided by a 16mm film projector, at an arcade cabinet. This system featured several games and achieved significant success for Nintendo throughout the 1970s, which helped the company out of its financial situation.
The laser shooting idea was subsequently taken up by other manufacturers. The principle of a laser gun, which fires beams of light at a reflective target, inspired pigeon clay shooting simulators, where the pigeon clays are replaced with reflective flying disks. The product of this type was an analogue system developed by UK company Lasersport. In the early 2020s, a digital laser clay shooting system was developed by SLR Games, also a UK manufacturer.
The Laser Clay Shooting System was a shooting simulation that was present in many former bowling alleys in Japan. In the simulation, players fire their laser rifles at moving targets produced by an overhead projector. A series of reflections determines whether or not the target was hit by the "laser shot"; when a hit is registered, the projector displays a picture of a destroyed target.
The Laser Clay Shooting System was redesigned in 1974 and was renamed "Mini Laser Clay". This game would be displayed in arcades as opposed to bowling alleys. Mini Laser Clay consisted of two shooting ranges in which up to four players could play simultaneously. Players would pay ¥100 to shoot ten clay pigeons with two shots per pigeon; players would "pull" each clay pigeon by stepping on a button near their feet. High scores would earn players tokens which could be exchanged for prizes. Cheaper models of Mini Laser Clay featured single players who would shoot targets, projected by a 16mm film, at an arcade cabinet with a revolver.
The idea for the Laser Clay Shooting System Game started in 1971, when Hiroshi Yamauchi read a newspaper article about shooting (also referred to as "Ball Trap") competitions. He then asked his assistant Gunpei Yokoi about the possibility of using their current product, the "Opto-Electronic Gun SP", for shooting simulations. Days after Yamauchi's request, Yokoi asked Yamauchi to buy him a rifle for the purposes of designing an "electronic Ball Trap simulation" by using the rifle as a prototype. Assisting in the development were Masayuki Uemura and Genyo Takeda. The project was approved in 1971 and was dubbed the "Laser Clay Shooting System".
Yamauchi wanted to see shooting simulations developed in deserted bowling alleys in Japan; bowling in Japan was a 1960s fad which was replaced by karaoke by the end of that decade. The first Laser Clay Shooting System was unveiled to the public in early 1973, despite technical setbacks which were fixed in extremis on the same day it was unveiled. Nintendo proceeded to buy out deserted bowling alleys in various strategic locations, in which they were fitted with the simulation system. Costing between ¥4 and ¥4.5 million to install, each system included overhead projectors which displayed airborne targets behind a mountainous or forest landscape, and a mechanism that consisted of reflections which detected whether or not the "laser shot" hit the flying target on the projector.
Yamauchi was successful in the first few weeks of operation, as his "test locations" were running at capacity. In February 1973, with imminent success of the Laser Clay Shooting System, Yamauchi established a new Nintendo subsidiary, Nintendo Leisure System Co., Ltd., to handle the maintenance and orders of the system. He then continued to buy out more former bowling alleys and fitted them with Laser Clay Shooting Systems, and the subsidiary had many pre-orders for them. As a result, the factories dedicated to building these systems were running at capacity around the clock in order to meet public demand. Advertising for the Laser Clay Shooting System featured Japanese actor and martial artist Sonny Chiba.