SNES MACS Light Gun M16 Simulator Still Trains Space Force in 2024
Tucked away in a secret military facility behind multiple entry control points I spotted one of the rarest games and of all time: The Multi-Purpose Arcade Combat Simulator (MACS), a military rifle training simulator complete with an M16 light gun made for the Army on the SNES in the 90s. It was a complete set with the cartridge, SNES, CRT, and light gun. I told them off the cuff that they had one of the rarest pieces of video game history laying there and that it was worth somewhere between $500 and $3000. I didn’t have the internet to check the value and I couldn’t take a picture since we can’t carry phones but it was obvious to me that it belonged in a museum.
When I was in boot camp we never got to fire a real rifle. We trained on a video game as well, it was an M4 shooting arcade with targets projected on the wall. It really was a game, they had many simulations including one that looked like a carnival game. The mock M4s were connected to air guns to simulate recoil. Turns out before the Air Force had this simulation, the Army had MACS for the SNES.
And here it was in 2024, still setup for use with an isolated active duty Space Force unit stationed overseas with their own self defense measures. Wait, Space Force unit? Why does a service created in 2019 have an Army training simulator from the 90s? This particular Space Force unit was transferred over from the Army. They’ve likely had it in their inventory for over 30 years now. I have no doubt that this is the last MACS owned and used by the US military.