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Comment by CydeWeys | Hacker News Reader

OK, but why?

Seems like they’re hoping to gain access to new target demographics through marketing gimmicks. They mentioned gamification, which is just weird and a disturbing for a tool made to kill.

No, they mentioned entering a "semi-game" niche, which is vague other than maybe targeting groups like airsoft enthusiasts.

I'm not the best reader in the world, but I interpretated "semi-game" as in they're attempting to break into the game hunting market. Within the context of the article though, that seems to be too charitable of an interpretation, lol.

> they're attempting to break into the game hunting market

They are already in that market, and the MP-155 shotgun (of which the new Ultima is a variant) is apparently one of their popular products in that market. But they've explicitly pointed to video game inspiration in its design, so I think the “game” in “semi-game” is a reference to that (though I think this is still in the hunting market, their are just trying to make it more videogame-like and social-media-friendly, to attract a less traditional market.)

> No, they mentioned entering a "semi-game" niche, which is vague other than maybe targeting groups like airsoft enthusiasts.

Since it's a variant of a popular sport hunting shotgun, I think the reference is to gamifying hunting (or maybe target shooting). I don't think “airsoft, but with a smart shotgun” is a game likely to be a viable market outside dystopian fiction.

(Though if this does reach the market in significant numbers, I can't imagine it avoiding being very publicly used in shocking ways specifically enabled by its electronic integration.)

> “With Ultima we want to attract new customers who are not typically our target audience,” said Tarasov. “We are targeting customers who want to get some drive or adrenaline. Entering a semi-game niche could be an option.”

That seems like it goes beyond weird/disturbing, and a decent case could be made for actually evil.

I am pro-gun, with the understanding that education is necessary, and this seems like it not only isn't education, but if anything is the opposite -- pushing for people to be even more irresponsible and dangerous.

I think it's a bad translation and they mean "semi-game" as in "not big game" hunting or "non-competition but competition styled" target shooting. The point being if they make it easier or more fun then people will spend their free time/money on their guns instead of spending it on a jet ski or whatever.

Being able to replay a video of a shot so you can see where you hit something and have a realistic idea of how far it went would be useful to a lot of hunters. Additionally, sharing what you did with your buddies is a big part of a lot of recreational activities these days, particularly with younger people so they're naturally providing a mechanism for that. The guy who owns the dirt bike has go-pro footage of that sick jump he made. This sounds like it's like that but for your gun.

Yeah, that would make more sense.

My fault for the bad reading comprehension, thanks for the fix!

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