The MACS (Multipurpose Arcade Combat Simulator) for Super Nintendo
…and you thought the Super Scope was obscure? Meet the MACS Multipurpose Arcade Combat Simulator for the Super Nintendo - perhaps the rarest video game and accessory in existence. Developed for the U.S. Army to increase the firing accuracy of recruits, the game uses an M16 replica of authentic size and weight for an input device, rather than a plastic approximation.
The cartridge label reads “MACS Moving Target Simulator (C) 1993 Sculptured Software, Inc” - presumably the same Sculptured Software that was responsible for the SNES ports of the Mortal Kombat series - however information is scarce.
GameSetWatch covered an eBay auction for a bare MACS cartridge back in January 2007, with the seller claiming “I only have 1 gun and I am not ready to sell it just yet.” In a strange coincidence, after following the link to the seller’s eBay profile, I found this auction for the gun, and this auction for a MACS cartridge - I guess he changed his mind about that gun.
The now-defunct eBay blog eBidiot spotted a MACS rifle (sans case and game cartridge) go for US$840 in April 2007 - so expect this auction for a complete, boxed system including the rifle, cartridge, Super Nintendo system and case to reach an astronomical amount.
What’s particularly interesting is a comment from GameSetWatch reader Bob, who apparently used a Commodore 64 version of MACS in use during his basic training in 1991. It seems crazy that after sixteen years of the U.S. Army dabbling with game-based training, they’re releasing irrelevant America’s Army Arcade.
Complete MACS system auction via GameSniped
Images via Gamers Graveyard
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July 27th, 2009 at 4:32 am
[…] Originally Posted by Captain America Well, in my day, it was Pac Man. We got to play video games in basic training too. The MACS (Multipurpose Arcade Combat Simulator) for Super Nintendo - The Gamer Gene […]
January 18th, 2010 at 8:06 pm
“they’re releasing irrelevant America’s Army Arcade.”
It is not irrelevant, it is not even a training tool like the M.A.C.S, but a marketing or recruitment tool for the United States Army.
Rather than remaining confined to home downloads, the U.S Army have identified and capitilised upon the opportunity to bring their recruitment model to a broader, more casual market place.