Hyperkin Producing New NES Compatible Light Gun That Works On High Definition TV’s

There are a number of ways for you to enjoy classic Nintendo games on your high-definition television- such as, for instance, hooking up an NES Classic to it. But the struggle is real when it comes to playing old-school shooting games, such as Duck Hunt and Hogan’s Alley, since the Zapper doesn’t work with new-fangled televisions.

However, Hyperkin is looking to change that with a new peripheral that it’s introducing at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. The company is hard at work on the Hyper Blaster HD, which will be compatible with the classic NES favorite Duck Hunt.

The peripheral is being described as the “first-ever commercially produced solution” for playing this duck-shooting game on a higher-end TV, so that it reads signals much better than the original Zapper, which was made well before their time.
Details are very scarce at the moment, but the company did provide us a few details in a press release, which can be found below.

• Play Duck Hunt for the NES with a light gun on an HDTV (original Duck Hunt cartridge and NES required)
• Includes special Hyper Blaster HD light gun
• Includes Hyper Blaster HD Adapter to allow HDTV compatibility

It’s unknown if the Hyper Blaster HD will work with other light-gun compatible games like Gumshoe and Hogan’s Alley, as the company didn’t mention those specifically. We’ll find out more as the Hyper Blaster HD’s development moves along.

In addition, the company will also reveal a couple of new technical goodies at their booth this week, including the RetroN S64, which serves as a “cute, 64-bit era dock for the Switch;” as well as the RetroN DIY for SNES, which lets you build your own retro SNES console from scratch without the need to hardwire anything together. More information on these accessories, including potential release dates and pricing, should be available over the next few days.

The only other viable solution for playing Duck Hunt in this day and age is to download it on the Wii U, as there’s a version for that console that works with its Remote controllers as replacement Zappers. It doesn’t quite replicate what the NES version has to offer, but it’s pretty darn close.

Or, you know, get an old-school NES and an old television to go along with it. They are making the rounds…

Would you want to play Duck Hunt again on a new television? Feel free to let me know on Twitter at @TheDCD!

(Hat tip to Nintendo Life for the scoop!)