Author Topic: PS3 (PS4?) Game Genie(s)?  (Read 2307 times)

disgaeniac

PRO Supporter

PS3 (PS4?) Game Genie(s)?
« on: December 20, 2014, 12:00:45 pm »
Anyone have one?

tried one?

know how (and how well) they do/don't work?

asking from the perspective of -maybe- making some normally unplayable games playable with one hand?

thoughts, pros, cons, yea's & nay's?

ps4/vita and/or vita(PS)TV equivalents?

should I, shouldn't I?

thanks?
"Attempts must be made, even when there can be no hope.
 The alternative is despair.
 And betimes some wonder is wrought to redeem us"




davifus

Re: PS3 (PS4?) Game Genie(s)?
« Reply #1 on: December 20, 2014, 12:21:10 pm »
Would CFW be the equivalent of Game genies in this generation?
"Hard work betrays none, but dreams betray many." ( Hachiman Hikigaya)
"People say nothing's impossible, but I do nothing everyday." (Winnie The Pooh)


bobster

Re: PS3 (PS4?) Game Genie(s)?
« Reply #2 on: December 20, 2014, 12:37:57 pm »
Ok after some brief research, I think I have basic idea of how it works. As far as I can tell, the Game Genie is the only product out right now (No Pro action replay, gameshark etc.)

What the Game Genie does is edit save game data. This is a bit different from what you think of when you think Game Genie for older systems (NES etc). The way it worked in the old days is that the Game Genie would actively edit the data that was being used in RAM. When you start a game, the system reads everything off disk or harddrive and runs it all in RAM, only using the disk after to load whatever it hasn't already. Doing so allowed you to change how the game ran which allowed you to do things like have invincibility or infinite ammo.

That's not the case in recent years. Securing RAM and access to the systems that write to RAM has become a huge priority to fight off piracy. Without hacking the system, you can't do things like we did in the old days with cheat devices.

This Game Genie takes another route, it edits the data saved in our save files. From what I can tell, this product comes with a USB drive to transfer save files to and from the PS3. You then load them up on your PC, use their software to edit the data, then transfer back to the PS3.

Doing it this way, you can only edit whatever is stored in the save file. Think how much money you have, the stats of your characters, or bonuses you've unlocked in the game. Still cool, but not as pervasive as we might be used to.

There's a couple caveats with this though. Each game encrypts their save files differently. That means that before you can edit the game save, someone has to figure out how to decrypt that particular game. Luckily, this seems to be going a lot easier now than in the past. According to their site, there's 433 games you can edit at this point. Apparently their update process is pretty good too so they get pushed out once they're approved by the manufacturer (which seems to be Hyperkin?).

I don't have the product on hand so I can't say how user friendly this all is, but I'd be inclined to believe it's not that hard and they walk you through it. You can even download save games from other people to use.

From a video I saw, this could lead to unlocking trophies easily. I don't know if this would lead Sony to banning some PSN accounts or not. I imagine the Game Genie doesn't have codes for online/multiplayer games as that'd probably get people banned and enable cheating online. So in reality it's probably safe to use, especially for single player games.

I hope this helps!
Currently Playing: The Witcher

bobster

Re: PS3 (PS4?) Game Genie(s)?
« Reply #3 on: December 20, 2014, 12:39:14 pm »
Would CFW be the equivalent of Game genies in this generation?

In some cases yes. I know my PSP has cheat codes on it because of the custom firmware that's on it. But that requires hacking the system itself. Usually not a user friendly option if it is even available.
Currently Playing: The Witcher

disgaeniac

PRO Supporter

Re: PS3 (PS4?) Game Genie(s)?
« Reply #4 on: December 20, 2014, 12:39:25 pm »
Would CFW be the equivalent of Game genies in this generation?

Definitely for last gen & PSP!

No, there's *literally* one called the "Game Genie" for the PS3...I just don't know & haven't heard anything about them.
"Attempts must be made, even when there can be no hope.
 The alternative is despair.
 And betimes some wonder is wrought to redeem us"




MJMaranan

PRO Supporter

Re: PS3 (PS4?) Game Genie(s)?
« Reply #5 on: December 20, 2014, 03:37:33 pm »
As a video game cheater, I have one and tried it.  The information bobster gave is true, although as for changing a game's profile from one to another to obtain trophies, I haven't fully checked into yet.  Mostly using the save editor and also see Hyperkin game code updates.


Please check out the games I have for sale.

disgaeniac

PRO Supporter

Re: PS3 (PS4?) Game Genie(s)?
« Reply #6 on: December 20, 2014, 03:54:01 pm »
ye-eah, I was wondering about trophies.

I know that *I* wouldn't feel "right" using something like that to get them --but-- it also makes me wonder if some of those with 300 - 500 platinums...maybe had a little help/boost? :o

Thanks for the replies; guys!
"Attempts must be made, even when there can be no hope.
 The alternative is despair.
 And betimes some wonder is wrought to redeem us"