Game Cheats - A Big Business

Thanks to the San Diego Union-Tribune for its amusing article discussing the use of in-game cheatcodes and other game spoilers. It can be big business - regarding the cheat/hintbook market, an analyst suggests: "When you look at the magazines, Web sites and hint books, it's clear that consumers are spending quite a bit of money not just on the games. It's well over $100 million (annually). It's a big, big area." The up-side of cheating is mentioned, too - Chris Ulm of Sammy Studios says "Some of the codes let you play the game again and have a different experience. It makes the game a toy that you can play with in a different way." But the dark side is also revealed, with one piquant passage suggesting codes could be "...akin to cheating at solitaire, a source of false accomplishment and just one more instance of the fraying in society's moral fabric."

Comments

Invisiclues

[sparkhead]

They were called Invisiclues.

Re:Remember adventure "hint books"?

[evilhayama]

There's an online equivalent. It's called the Universal Hint System. You get to look at progressively stronger hints at solving each puzzle. They're great for lucasarts style adventures where you need that little bit extra.