The "Stigma" of Console Cheat Devices

In recent years, whenever I've seen someone post about a cheat device online, the automated response by most "real gamers" is, "Why don't you just actually play the game?" or, "Just don't suck."

There are definitely some legitimate reasons for cheat devices not being available on Xbox 360 and the like these days (achievement/trophy abuse), but I guess the real reason is simply due to firmware updates locking out unofficial hardware.

Anyway, I don't play online, but I can appreciate how nobody wants a hacker in that environment. Personally, I've never been interested in using Gameshark, Action Replay, or Game Genie for accessing "unlimited lives" or whatever. For me, I just have very fond memories of going back to games like Ocarina of Time long after having completed them to mess around with "moon jump" codes, or things of that nature... In short, to be able to add a further level of enjoyment to something I purchased.

I realize that people aren't exactly "entitled" to messing around with a developer's code, but the fear of these things has gotten a bit ridiculous these days, and I just hate the notion of gamers on their high-horses assuming that someone could only have malicious reasons for wanting a cheat device. I'm more of a generation five/six kind of guy, so I'm not missing them too much. I am, however, holding out hope that a real 3DS Gameshark/Action Replay might be in the future... and no, it isn't so that I can use ridiculously overpowered Pokemon online, it'll probably be so that I can walk through walls in Resident Evil.

I also enjoy making my own codes, so I have another reason to enjoy cheat devices.

 

I'm with you on this one. I had some great fun messing with my MD, N64 and PSX using cheat devices. I think it took me about two hours to input the code to make Metal Gear Solid in first person but it was totally worth it. Messing with the Final Fantasy VII debug mode was also a huge boon considering how big a fan I was.

I bet there are plenty of cool debug menus and interesting bits and pieces left in many of the modern games we play but they're pretty much forever off limits, except to those with "jailbroken" consoles and a head for reverse engineering who are in a constant battle to prevent being banned from whatever live service is running.

Sadly I don't think we'll ever see cheat devices again, not in the same way however it's a blessing and a curse, there's nothing worse than a cheater, especially a game ruining one. I've had many a match ruined in CS over the years where a random asshat has come into the middle of a great game and screwed everything up for everyone and don't even get me started on Phantasy Star Online for the DC, by the time I'd talked my parents into letting me use the dial up to go online, the game was riddled with "hackers" throwing high powered Mags at me and completely ruining the grinding experience.

So although it's a shame they're gone it's probably for the best as the few will only go and ruin it for the many.

 

I loved my GameShark for the N64. So many codes you could do on Super Mario 64. Many hours spent adding weird tweeks and changing gameplay mechanics to discover different areas, strange views, etc. I still pop that in every once and a while to just mess around in SM64's world.

There's a difference between using cheats to bypass the games difficulty and using cheats to enhance the experience and add more gameplay. I guess the former is what people dislike.

 

I think given that most games rely on a strong online component (and, while I don't mind using my Gameshark/Action Replay for single player stuff, using it to gain an edge in multiplayer is low), it's hard to see manufacturers allowing that kind of thing, because they'll get grief from losers who always claim someone cheated (even when they didn't cheat).

I've never been opposed to cheating, I remember spending a few hours trying to get superjumps to work in Halo just for fun, but I do think it's wrong to use it to beat someone.

 

My kind of guy! I'd even go further and say allow it in online, but make it a separate ladder. Kinda pit all kinds of bots/hacks against each other. (Not sure, but didn't Rockstar do that with Max Payne 3 at one point? Not flat out allow it, just flag and match cheaters with each other...)

 

Cheating in offline games is fun. Cheating in online games is really nasty. Nobody likes when some asshole ruins the game.

 

I think "stigma" is a little too strong of a term. Nobody's going to shun you for using a Gameshark.

 

Cool, do you still have this Code? I 'd be interested

 

You should all feel bad

 

Haha, well... as mentioned, I've never been very interested in online play, let alone cheating online.

Regardless, it seems they actually got their magic bullet after all. Save editors still exist, but I don't consider those to be the same at all.

 

Normally I don't cheat ,but when It came to sonic r for the saturn I made an exception.

 

I find that cheating in single player games is fine but multiplayer is obviously not fine. I wouldn't consider that stigma is too strong a word, as I have seen people heavily disapprove of it, even for single player. Nowadays for games, it seems to be all about getting those trophies. Many people hold those as their goals in games and do not like anyone who may cheat to get them. I personally don't care for trophies and I do not mind when games that do allow cheats will disable them.

I've run into this situation before when I found a game that, apparently, has no cheats whatsoever. That was Red Faction: Armageddon. When I had inquired online about cheats, debug, etc I was faced with comments like "maybe you just suck at the game and you should stop playing."

 

Yeah, that makes sense. If you did indeed "suck," which you don't, wouldn't you want to keep playing to get better? It's kinda like asking about a cruise-control feature in a car, and people replying with, "if you can't maintain speed, then you suck at driving and should quit."

That's a portion of the online gaming community, and what seems to be a part of the internet overall. "Hey, here's a criticism that doesn't even get close to answering your question. Aren't I helpful?!" Even when you explicitly ask people not to do that, there's still a portion that will no matter what.

 

Sadly not, I was about 14 when I did that and it was printed in a magazine, I'm sure it'll be out in the wild somewhere.

 

I'm quite certain somebody also made a version of this code for MGS: The Twin Snakes on Gamecube, and I've seen it online recently (I think on the "BSFree" page).

 

The sad thing is it seems like modern games no longer have built in cheats anymore. Back in the NES and SNES days many games had built in codes to discover that could be very useful. Then ofcourse you had even better codes with Game Genie and Action Replay possible. Then you had even more options with the Playstation 1 and 2 time frame. Then with the 360 and PS3 era it all ended. The only cheats we are lucky enough to have are either exploits or maybe a rare inclusion of built in cheats. Maybe if you have a hacked system or try to load hacked saved files you might be able to do something. But it's just not the same as before.

 

Loved my Action Replay 2 for the SNES. You could completely change the way SF2 played with moon jumps, turbo speeds and air specials.

Had a lot of fun looking for codes with the trainer as well as sometimes you'd come across something completely unexpected. I was looking for a code to take Yoshi into ghost houses in SMW and stumbled on one that made Mario run around with his decapitated head in his hands.

 

I only bothered to cheap in Super Robot Wars before Alpha. The games were so archaic and hard that I just plugged in unlimited money, can't say it helped in later stages of the game.

 

Yeah, the absence of built-in cheats these days is unfortunate. As Tripredacus mentioned, developers could simply disable trophies/achievements when they are active, as some do.

Hell, even make it so that trophies unlock these cheat options, because the only time I'm motivated to get them is when some sort of content becomes available along with it. It's very irritating when developers seem to think that achievements/trophies somehow are extra content.

 

I, personally, do not get any sense of satisfaction of having beaten a game. I play them for fun or for the story, but also mostly for the fun of it. I am not concerned with being good or great at any game. If I get stuck somewhere and I can't figure it out or it ends up being too frustrating, I am more likely to quit and move onto something else. My usual complaint with some newer games is when the style changes to something else. For example, playing an FPS that has some section that has a rail shooter mission or a forced stealth mission. I am in this situation now with Far Cry 3, where I am stuck on a forced stealth mission and there is no way to skip that and go to the next step.