TOKYO - The Dreamcast will be getting its first gun controller this spring, called the Dreamcast Gun (imaginative name, eh?). This one will be released simultaneously with The House of the Dead 2. The game and DC Gun pack-in will run you 7,800 yen (about US$69), while the game itself will be sold separately for 5,800 yen (about $51). It's not known whether the DC Gun will be available separately.

　　The DC Gun has two distinctive features. One is that it has one VM slot. You can plug a VMS or even the PuruPuru Pack into it. The other unique feature is, as you can see, the inclusion of a D-pad. The D-pad is located at the end of the gun, so you can use it with your thumb while holding it. HotD2 won't utilize the D-pad much, but it sure provides lots of possibilities for future gun games.

　　Interestingly, the DC Gun can be played on a PC monitor using the VGA Box. Normally most gun controllers can't be used with PC monitors. Because of the scanning system, it can't detect where you're shooting. But the DC Gun can detect. This is good news for those who bought the VGA Box.

　　The picture here with the DC Gun next to a black gun is a comparison between the new DC Gun and the Saturn gun (the black one).

　　Pictures courtesy Dreamcast Magazine.