I was actually going to write up something for the EC guys about cheating explaining the three main reasons people use cheats. Especially considering...games nowadays STILL have the same problems which caused people to use AR and other such devices.
First off...I want to clarify that I don't consider imbedded cheat codes like the Konami Code cheating. If the programmers put it in there, the general assumption is they want to see if you can find it and actually use it. Also, I do not consider using any command and/or manuver programmed into the game and usable by all cheating either. So...you people calling Snaking cheating in Mario Kart? You're just whining because someone else was good enough to pull it off and is therefore better than you.
Anyways...the problems in games requiring cheating. Basically, I'm referring to difficulty control, unlockables, and broken issues.
Difficulty control is the most obvious because not all gamers are alike. Even if you have two gamers with the same experience with the same type of games over the same period of time...they will still tackle a brand new game two different ways. As such, there will be people who will find even the easiest difficulty settings of some games too taxing or those who find the most difficult settings too easy. Heck...there were once codes for the ORIGINAL version of Devil May Cry 3, a game already considered too difficult to play, that made THAT game more difficult!
Unlockables refer to those things that are like Achievements in games, but have a more tangible reward like new stages, new items, or even new characters. Problem is there were still some games in which the unlockables were either items that many felt should've been included from day one, like Sonic and Snake from SSB:B, or are rewards that didn't match the effort put into getting it, like Falco from the same game. Heck...no doubt many here actually used an AR for SSB:M since you didn't want to spend a gabillion hours getting everything unlocked.
Broken issues are pretty much omnipresent in all games. RPGs, however, have a big one in the form of grinding for gold. It's one of the main reasons why most gamers ask for a "gold code" first thing for any DS or PSP RPG. Reason being that trying to grind for money almost always leads to overleveling. I saw this in Dragon Warrior IV for the NES. As Ragnar I decided to grind until I got enough money for the best equips in town before tacking the tower, and found myself three levels higher than I needed to be to tackle the tower...making the boss fight WAY too easy after getting the Sword of Malice.
Personally, I feel the above illustrates why the loss of cheats is kind of a downer, but then again I can understand why they have gone the way of the ghost. As albino boo pointed out, the advent of multiplayer games killed cheats since...well...do you want to play against someone in PVP who turned on the Godmode cheat? Didn't think so.
CAPTCHA: the atedsei
Not any atedsei, mind you. THE atedsei!