Game Cheats have a Long History

Cheat codes for video games have a colorful history. Hardly a game ever manufactured even dating back to early Atari and the first computer games has not had cheats either built in or a had way to be reprogrammed. True, cheating sort of came about accidentally, but today there is a whole game cheat culture with its own share of the publishing industry.

At first, cheating was practiced only by the technically proficient gamers. It was sophisticated, and the every day gamer couldn’t hack it. Cheating back in the day meant literally reprogramming a game before it was loaded into the computer’s memory. These kinds of cheats were called pokes and could be used to get much the same effects that cheats produce in today’s games—make a character invincible, get unlimited ammo, etc.

Game manufacturers from the beginning built cheats into their games. These were not intended for the use of players, however, but for the game testers. It made the pre-production testing process more efficient. Usually, the cheats were not removed before the games went on sale, and gamers found them. Accessing these cheats became so ubiquitous that game designers took note. Players began to expect them, and designers obliged, rewarding the faithful with cool, wacky, or interesting cheats and unlock ables.

Some players howled that cheats were dishonest, bad, wrong, and un-American. Even some of the gaming magazines took up the outcry, but it was soon squashed. The cheats were just too cool. They could bypass levels and speed up play for the time-crunched. They could take you to hidden places and unlock stuff. They definitely made game replay way more amusing. And they could make eighteen wheelers fly and dinosaurs appear undead—how wack is that?

So cheat all you want! Cheats make gaming more creative, letting you make the game do what you want it to do. Be as dedicated or as clever as you like! Game Cheats are the best way to get the most out of your games.