New TVs and Old Videogames Don’t Play Well Together

If your video game collection happens to have a light gun like a NES Zapper, SNES Super Scope, or Sega Light Gun, then you might want to hang on to that old tube TV. Why? Because older light guns are incompatible with most Plasma, LCD, and DLP TVs.  Sadly, I had to learn this lesson the hard way.

It all started back in April of this year with a jonesing for a SNES Super Scope. I never had or used one because we didn’t have a SNES growing up (had a Genesis ’cause Nintendont). So I’ve been keeping an eye out for a good deal on one on Ebay, Craigslist, or the local used videogame store. I finally found a sweet deal on an original boxed Super Scope with all the parts and it came with  four complete games (boxes and instructions ).

I managed to win the auction and the Scope arrived on Monday. I ran inside like a little kid during Christmas and tore open the box. I dusted off the ol’ SNES, hooked it up to our HD TV, and fired everything up. (Side note: the Super Scope takes six AA batteries.  I found that slightly comical since modern Wiimotes only require two.) I pointed the gun at the screen to calibrate it and nothing happened. I could see a slight screen flicker (reminiscent of Duck Hunt) but there wasn’t a “trigger” event. After googling the issue, it turns out that new HD TVs have faster refresh rates and don’t use cathode ray tubes (CRTs). You can find more technical information here. In other words, I was sorta outta luck. My “new” Super Scope was old and busted…right out of the box.

What makes all the more bitter was the fact that we Craigslisted a 27″ CRT TV about two months ago. I had a perfect TV and I let it go. Now I’m stalking the shadows of Craigslist…waiting for someone to post an ad for a cheap 19″ CRT TV. The good news is that A) this is a college town, B) HDTVs have dropped in price, and C) the DTV switch has made old CRTs practically useless for most people.

The other good news is that when I find one, it will also make a perfect arcade monitor (when I finally get around to building an arcade box and finishing the software I’m writing for it).

Silver lining right?