What happened to cheat codes?

[viranimus]

Yeah throwing a kink in the monkey works on the argument for achievements. Look at original Xbox and PS2 titles, No achievements, but no codes either.

There were tons of games wit cheats on ps2 and xbox

There were some on the PS2... The original xbox was touted for being a "no cheat" system when it first came out and as such the number of true cheats on it is paltry compared to prior generations. The point is, thats when you started to see games devoid of cheats and that change predated the advent of achievement tracking.(online achievement tracking anyway)

Also, remember were discussing cheat codes. Specific sequences left in the games design for cheating. Exploits, bugs, glitches are not the same thing because they were not intended effects.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

I think we can all do with a little less cynicism at this point and simply realize that it's probably because games are built in with more flexible difficulty these days.

I don't see any evidence for this.

The Oregon Trail (1985): 3 difficulty settings
DOOM (1993): 5 difficulty settings
Dead Space (2008): 4 difficulty settings, no cheats

 

[Shock and Awe]

Probably Achievements and related concepts, though I don't see why cheats couldn't just disable the damn things, Rock Band did it.

 

[targren]

I think the only console game I've played with cheats this gen (not counting the "cheats" which you unlock in the Ratchet and Clank games, which are on the menu FFS. That's not a cheat!) would be the secret pay phone unlocks in Bayonetta...

 

[crono738]

I'm gonna say the words of TotalBiscuit from one of his mail episodes, if my memory serves. The reason cheat codes have disappeared is because of achievements.

And if you look, that is a rather true statement. Most games stopped using cheat codes the moment achievements were implemented. The only ones I know of that continue to use cheat codes are the Grand Theft Auto games.

Red Faction Guerrilla had cheats as unlockables for doing random crap, and saving/achievements were disabled whenever you activated them.

I miss cheat codes

 

[Oskuro]

I think we can all do with a little less cynicism at this point and simply realize that it's probably because games are built in with more flexible difficulty these days.

Or, alternatively, that console games are developed on PC workstations, where developer cheats are accessed via console commands or configuration files, and that they are never implemented for the final controllers, so once the game is released, there's no way to activate them.


I still think that the whole achievements/DLC/whatever structure is the main motivator behind not implementing controller support for cheat codes, although the idea of there being more configuration options nowadays has some merit. If a game, for example, has a "zombie mode" in the configuration menus, there's no need to have a cheat for it.

Guess we'll never unravel the cheat conspiracy...



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[The Pinray]

I don't get why other companies go the Rockstar way. Enable cheats, disable achievements. Everybody wins!

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

Don't worry... they will be back soon in a crazy 'nostalgia' move that sees big-head mode and tiny enemies making a triumphant return...

Although there were cheats in CoD4 wern't there? (Not codes, but unlockable ones?)

Also... who needs cheats when games are as easy as they are nowadays! You say you wanted cheats after dying 20 times, when back along a game would let you die that many times without major repurcussion!

 

[Frostbyte666]

Cheat codes could be great for a laugh, hell original starcraft with the mission to survive for ten minutes against the zerg I cheated there to build a fortress and allow the zerg to have some advantages like a LARGE number of em to assault my base at the 5 minute mark and me screaming BRING IT ON (Joe Swansan style).

Personally I find the achievements absolutely worthless apart from a very few where it is a challenge to get instead of the majority along the lines of you've finished the prologue have an achievement...When that happens I just think I didn't realise the developers thought so little of their game that I'm rewarded for being able to sit through a prologue.

 

[Smooth Operator]

What do you mean?
You get all the cheats you want, all yours for an astonishing price of 14.99!! CALL NOW for this special offer!
And if enough people buy it we can take even more features out of the sequel, be sure to call in and preorder now!

 

[Epona]

I have a PS2 Gameshark so there certainly were cheats on the PS2. Don't know about Xbox though. Cheats are gone for two reasons:

1) Achievements (more as a justification for preventing cheats)
2) They can patch out functionality so no one bothers to make a cheat device anymore

The DS had an Action Replay that Nintendo killed with the DSi. A new Action Replay was needed for the DSi. The Gamecube had an Action Replay that won't work on the Wii. Today new hardware isn't needed to kill cheat devices, just an update.

If you miss your cheat devices, blame the console manufacturers. Back in the NES era, Nintendo took Galoob to court over the Game Genie and Nintendo lost. They have always wanted to control the way you play and now they can.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

Achievements, Steam, VAC.

I think there was an article about this exact topic on this site somewhere.

You can still use cheats in Steam, (although it's more fiddling around with the console commands.) But if you activate them you can't get achievements.

VAC is a anti cheating system for multi-player games, I trust that you don't try to get around that to cheat.

 

[piinyouri]

Achievements and Trophies happened.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

The developers put the cheats in because they weren't too skilled at their own games, they needed the boost. Ever since achievements, multiplayer, lowering of difficulties via easy difficulties, using the developer's console (disabled in consoles), play testing, or what have you, nobody has any practical reason to implement cheats. Or, if they did, they removed it for whatever reason.

 

[Evil Smurf]

I remember Warcraft 1 and 2 had the cheats in the readme file

 

[Dandark]

Last game I played with cheats was Saints row 2. It was fairly recent and had all the normal kind of GTA cheats. They made that game really damn fun, especially in the co-op. It was great to just enable cheats and go wild doing whatever you wanted, they disabled achievements upon use so that wasn't a big deal.

It was one of the things I loved about SR2 so what happened? Saints row 3 comes along with it's stupid DLC scheme and now you have to buy cheat codes.....

Yes you read that right. You now have to buy cheat codes...............................