Ever since the first video games 30 years ago, individuals have loved to alter both hardware and software for fun or profit. From the classic POKE hacks on the ZX Spectrum handing you endless lives on Sabre Wulf way back in the 80s, to DSi flashcarts allowing one to run a greater range of games on their Nintendo DSi.
Games makers and system manufacturers have had a rocky relationship with the hacking and soldering crowd. In one way, modders/hackers add value to the games and systems - for instance chips that have been modified give great convenience to games players who can download non-sanctioned games from the web. Likewise, software hacks brings extra value to very challenging games, and nowadays it’s even a convention for software developers to secretly plant cheat codes for gamers to find.
Then again, games manufacturers state that this kind of chip modification hurts their profits, as chip modifications can also be applied to bypass piracy steps, and bypassing firmware that restricts discs to play just in particular countries. These are persuasive grounds for hardware and games producers to perpetually develop new steps to make modding all that more dificult.
But whatever the arguments in opposition to chip modification, chip modification is now a huge market that isn’t going to disappear anytime soon.
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