Throughout the 1970s mechanical games were replaced by electronic video games and in the 1980s popular light gun shooters such as Duck Hunt emerged.

Mechanical games using light guns had existed since the 1930s, though they operated differently from those used in video games. However, not all 'light gun shooters' use optical light guns, but some may also use alternative pointing devices such as positional guns or motion controllers. Light gun shooters typically employ ' light gun' controllers, so named because they function through the use of light sensors. Some, particularly later, games give the player greater control over movement and in still others the protagonist does not move at all. Games featuring this device are sometimes termed 'rail shooters', though this term is also applied to games of other genres in which 'on-rails' movement is a feature. These games typically feature 'on-rails' movement, which gives the player control only over aiming the protagonist's other movements are determined by the game. Light gun shooters generally feature action or horror themes and some may employ a humorous, parodic treatment of these conventions. Light gun shooters revolve around the protagonist shooting targets, either antagonists or inanimate objects. Light gun shooter, also called light gun game or simply gun game, is a shooter video game genre in which the primary design element is aiming and shooting with a gun-shaped controller.

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