player. The light gun's shots are controlled by its aim towards the television. It operates on batteries and works in conjunction with a sensor plugged into the second controller port and placed atop the television display. The sensor counts CRT television scan lines to detect the player's shots. Sega Force noticed that the controller acts erratically when used under fluorescent lighting. Sega recommended of distance from the receiver, though the peripheral works between from the television. Sega Force reported that the controller lasts about 18 hours on new batteries, though Will Smith of The Hawk Eye estimated fewer ("a matter of hours"). The Toronto Star wrote that the Menacer lasts 20 hours as opposed to the Super Scope's 50 to 140 hours. The Menacer has no power switch: it automatically activates when aimed at the television and turns off after 30 seconds without input. The Super Scope fully drains its batteries when left on. Menacer's Accu-Sight option puts crosshairs on the screen to eliminate the need to aim manually through the sights. The gun does not have a "turbo" mode for continuous fire, unlike the Super Scope. History The Menacer was produced in response to the Nintendo Super Scope released several months earlier, though Sega intended to support the peripheral as more than a clone. These two peripherals brought arcade light gun game ports to home consoles. The Menacer is the successor to the Master System's Light Phaser. Mac Senour, a producer at Sega, was responsible for the peripheral and its six-game cartridge as the company's "hardware boy". He designed the six minigames based on Sega's previous intellectual property and licenses—such as ToeJam & Earl—under the instruction to avoid shooting games. His prototypes included games based on Joe Montana (Joe Montana Wide Receiver Training Camp) and David Robinson, but when presented, the company asked for more shooting games and scrapped all license-based games (besides ToeJam & Earl, whose license was free) due to their added cost. His "reverse Blockout game" prototype was the only other title carried to the final cartridge. Senour recalled that upon his cubicle presentation to Sega Japan's president, the executive did not say anything besides "very good" before leaving. Sega did not plan any other first-party releases for the Menacer—Senour recollected that "they laughed when I proposed more." Sega announced the Menacer alongside the Sega CD at the May 1992 Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago and