Cheat cartridge
Encyclopedia
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
. It allows a user to input special cheat codes to manipulate a game in a way not permitted by its original programming. Usually the effect is to gain infinite lives, ammunition, unlock secrets, or do things that would otherwise allow an unfair advantage (or disadvantage in some cases). Some games even have codes to activate unreleased levels, weapons, or items that may not have been available normally, and some even have codes to access debug menus used by programmers. Equivalent non-cartridge devices have been released and sold for modern game systems that use optical media instead of cartridges to store games.
Functions
A cheat cartridge's operation is simple. The device connects to the same port as normal game cartridges, thus allowing it to be plugged into the console's game slot. The game to be cheated is then attached to the device itself using another identical port.When powered on, the console will run the software stored on the cheat device. This is usually a menu from which the correct game is selected, and various cheats toggled on or off. When the user is ready, the device then runs the actual game. However, the activated cheats modify values in the game's code as it passes through the device, producing the desired effects, such as infinite lives and ammunition.
Publisher Reaction
Publishers of some video game consoles, such as NintendoNintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
actively attempted to thwart such devices, both through legal action and hardware or software alterations in the platform. Others were indifferent to the existence of such devices, or in the case of the Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
Genesis console, actually embraced their development.
Devices
Some popular commercial cheat devices:- GaloobGaloobLewis Galoob Toys, Inc. was a toy company headquartered on Forbes Blvd. in South San Francisco, California. Best known for distributing the Game Genie, a videogame cheat device, for Codemasters in the US, Galoob was founded by Barbara Frankel and Lewis Galoob in 1954 as an import business. Before...
's Game GenieGame GenieThe Game Genie is a series of cheat systems designed by Codemasters and sold by Camerica and Galoob for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Mega Drive/Genesis, and Sega Game Gear that modifies game data, allowing the player to cheat, manipulate various...
– an early cheat cartridge, one of the first. - DatelDatelDatel is a UK-based electronics and game console peripherals manufacturer. The company is best known for producing a wide range of hardware and peripherals for home computers in the 1980s, for example replacement keyboards for the ZX Spectrum, the PlusD disk interface and the Action Replay series...
's Action Replay – Also referred to as 'Pro Action Replay' in cartridges starting from the 8-bit era). More recent Action Replay cartridges are simply save gameSaved gameA saved game is a piece of digitally stored information about the progress of a player in a video game. This saved game can be reloaded later, so the player can continue where he or she had stopped...
transfer devices. - InterAct's and Mad CatzMad CatzMad Catz Interactive, Inc. is a peripherals manufacturer for various video game consoles headquartered in San Diego, California. It produces a wide range of accessories including control pads, memory cards, connection cables, headphones and other human interface devices.- History :The company was...
's GameSharkGameSharkGameShark is the brand name of a line of video game cheat cartridges and other products for a variety of console video game systems and Windows based computers. Currently, the brand name is owned by Mad Catz, who actively markets GameShark products for the PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, and Sega game... - DatelDatelDatel is a UK-based electronics and game console peripherals manufacturer. The company is best known for producing a wide range of hardware and peripherals for home computers in the 1980s, for example replacement keyboards for the ZX Spectrum, the PlusD disk interface and the Action Replay series...
's EqualizerEqualizer (Datel)The Equalizer is a game-hacking, cheat cartridge by Datel that was released for the Nintendo 64. It was the last cheat cartridge Datel produced for the N64, and was designed to be sold at a lower price point compared to other competing cheat cartridges, such as Datel's Action Replay Professional...
for Nintendo 64Nintendo 64The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
. - KonamiKonamiis a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
's Game MasterKonami Game MasterThe Konami Game Master, released as in Japan, is a special cheat cartridge specifically designed for Konami games on the MSX.It allowed the player to start at different stages, with more lives, save the game's progress and high scores, make screen dumps, and play in slow motion, as well as other uses...
– No longer developed, made for the MSXMSXMSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
. - Pelican's Code BreakerCode BreakerCode Breaker is a cheat device developed by Pelican Accessories, currently available for PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS. Along with competing product Action Replay, it is one of the few currently supported video game cheat devices.-History:...
– Manufactures cheating devices and books for most consoles. - Orbit's i-cheat — A cartridge for the Nintendo DSNintendo DSThe is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
UK Site US Site - EMS's GB Hunter — A Game BoyGame BoyThe , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
emulator for the Nintendo 64Nintendo 64The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
which has a built-in cheat device. - EMS's N64 PassportN64 PassportThe N64 Passport is an adapter cartridge for the Nintendo 64 video game console that was released by EMS . Games for the N64 console have region lockout which prevents, for example, a European game running on a North American or Japanese system. The N64 Passport cartridge sits in between the system...
A multi-region adaptor for the Nintendo 64Nintendo 64The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
which has a built-in cheat device. - Cheaters Evolved's Illusion Cheat Device. Official Website