This content has been automatically translated from Ukrainian.
Gameshark (brand name) and other cheat cartridges (from other manufacturers) became part of the gaming ecosystem for gamers in the 1990s and early 2000s, opening up new possibilities for interaction with favorite games. These devices were specifically designed for console games and allowed players to access hidden features, modify gameplay, or even completely bypass certain challenging moments in the game.
Gameshark is one of the most well-known cheat cartridges. Its concept involved using an additional cheat cartridge between the game and the console, allowing special codes to be entered to activate various cheats.
This means that the cheat cartridge is inserted into the console, and then the game cartridge is inserted into it. In this way, the cheat cartridge can influence the content of the game, etc.
For example, a player could gain infinite lives, unlimited ammunition, or activate a invisibility mode. Gameshark supported many popular consoles, such as Nintendo 64, PlayStation, and Game Boy.
Other cheat cartridges, such as Action Replay and Game Genie, had similar functionality. Action Replay was particularly popular in Europe and supported many different platforms, including Nintendo DS and Wii. Game Genie, which was one of the first such devices, worked with NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, and other consoles. All these devices shared a common goal: to allow players to modify game code to enhance their experience or simply for experimentation.
Cheat cartridges were used not only for entertainment. They became a useful tool for testing games and debugging, as they allowed developers to check various aspects of gameplay without the need to play through the game from start to finish. Additionally, they helped identify and fix bugs and other issues.
Modern games rarely use physical cheat cartridges, as most cheats are now implemented through internal codes, mods, or patches. However, the legacy of devices like Gameshark remains an important part of video game history, showing how players have always sought ways to make gameplay more engaging and diverse.
In general, I learned about the existence of such cheat cartridges from the art book "Game Consoles 2.0: A History in Photographs from Atari to Xbox," where they were mentioned, but it did not describe what they were. So it was decided to write this note. Also, I am currently looking for a good (and free) photo of a cheat cartridge that I could add to this post. And there is nothing on OLX for the request. So in the future, I hope to illustrate it properly.
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