Laser Clay Shooting System

The Laser Clay Shooting System is a historically significant, large-scale electromechanical shooting simulation developed by Nintendo in 1973. Created by legendary designers Gunpei Yokoi and Genyo Takeda under the direction of Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi, the system marked Nintendo's very first major venture into the arcade and interactive entertainment industry before the era of traditional video games.

The system was an immediate sensation upon release, but its success was violently cut short by the 1973 oil crisis. The economic crash forced Japanese consumers to cut back on leisure spending, leading to a wave of order cancellations that nearly bankrupted Nintendo. To survive, Nintendo adapted the technology into smaller, cost-effective arcade cabinets and eventually translated the concept into home console hardware, laying the direct groundwork for the NES Zapper and the iconic game Duck Hunt.

Players stood side-by-side in shooting bays facing a massive, wide-angle woodland mural. Moving targets (clay pigeons) were projected onto the wall using a overhead 16mm film projector.