 Light guns first became popularly used for video games in the mid @-@ 1980s , with Nintendo 's Duck Hunt being a much @-@ loved example . Sega 's Virtua Cop , released in arcades in 1994 , broke new ground , popularized the use of 3D polygons in shooter games , and led to a " Renaissance " in the popularity of arcade gun games . The game was inspired by the Clint Eastwood film Dirty Harry as well as a coffee advertisement in which a can of coffee grew larger in a gun 's sights ; in Virtua Cop the player had to shoot approaching targets as fast as possible . The acclaimed Time Crisis by Namco , released in Japanese arcades in 1995 and Sony 's PlayStation console in 1997 , introduced innovations such as simulated recoil and a foot pedal which when pressed caused the protagonist to take cover . The game 's light gun controller , the GunCon , was also acclaimed . Namco also released Point Blank for the PlayStation in 1998 ( previously available in Japanese arcades as Gun Bullet since 1994 ) , a 2D sprite @-@ based game featuring a unique minigame structure and quirky , humorous tone . The game was critically acclaimed and received two sequels , both for the PlayStation console . 
