Home Gaming Consoles

Starting with the home edition of Pong put out by Atari in the 70's, there has been a massive industry of home-based video games, games which are designed to hook up to TVs and bring the experience of the arcade to the living room. Of course, this wasn't really the case for a long time, because the home consoles would always be a little (or a lot) less powerful than what you'd be dumping quarters into at home. To keep the games fresh and new, a game-player would have to purchase cartridges, CDs, or other 'gaming packs' that are sold in stores. Naturally, it becomes a challenge to be the best at every new game that comes out, and people would show their prowess or abilities by solving or beating games and then going out to report their victories in "how-to" or "FAQ" files about the games. You can see many examples below.

There was never as much copy protection on home console games because it was never thought easy to duplicate the cartridges. This became a sub-industry in itself and many files about how to copy games, how to program in the gaming systems, and how to make the systems do things they were never supposed to do are below.

Filename
Size
Description of the Textfile
NINTENDOFiles Dealing with Nintendo and Nintendo Gaming Systems
 
24mhzhck.txt 2680
Hardware Hack to make a 24mhz Atari Lynx
32xcheat.txt 4328
The Sega 32x Game Listing and Code/Cheats FAQ, by Trevor Ryder, v0.2 1995
3doinfo.txt 52709
The Battle of the 32/64 Bits Game Console Supremacy
aquarius.lst 1696
List of Games for the Mattel "Aquarius" (March 16, 1994) by Dean Dierschow
arcadia.lst 1616
Game List for the Emerson Arcadia 2001 (October 25, 1993) by Dean Dierschow
at2600.lst 51501
Game List: Atari 2600
at5200.lst 4874
Game List: Atari 5200
at7800.lst 3785
Game List: Atari 7800
at800.lst 16083
Game List: Atari 800 (Cartirdges)
atar2600.tut 23365
Programming on the Atari 2600, posted by Greg Alt (December 7, 1992)
atarilnk.txt 18667
The AtariLink Directory - Last updated 27 Feb 1995 (A list of people who own Atari Jaguars)
atarishw.txt 4105
Advertisement for the 4th Annual Connecticut Atarifest (1994)
atlynx.lst 5198
Game List: The Atari Lynx
bally.lst 3003
List of Games for the Bally Astrocade
billteds.txt 24182
Game Notes for Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure on the Atari LYNX (January 9, 1992)
bloodstm.txt 95632
Bloodstorm: Complete Background History, Moves Reference, and Secrets Guide by James Elkinton (January 18, 1995)
bmb_cc1.txt 6055
Shout Outs from Bushwick Bill to the NEO-GEO crowd
bob_ces3.txt 32066
Dateline Atari! by Bob Brodie (January 7th, 1994)
bofwalk 59238
Walkthrough for Breath of Fire by The Spook
bouncers.txt 2560
Review of "Bounces" for the Sega (Basketball Game)
brodie.txt 24220
Dateline Atari! with Bob Brodie (October 1, 1993)
c64.lst 2795
List of Cartridges for the Commodore C-64 By Dean Dierschow (March 16, 1994)
carts.lst 4061
List of Dean Dierschow's Video Game Cartridge List (March 16, 1994)
cdsecret.s 9770
Sega CD Game Secrets Version 6 (January 1, 1994) by Bob Rusbasan
cheapcop 29172
Videogame Cartridge Copiers by Lawrence Chiu
cid205.txt 6853
Documentation for CART_ID v2.05, a Console Cartridge Image Identification Program
console.apr 47839
Copiers Information from Alpha Flight (April 1992)
console.mad 3991
Information on Console Copies by Console Madness
console.mar 35972
Copiers Info by Executioner (March 1992)
corrupt1.nws 20584
The 'Real" Console Newsletter by Corrupt, Edition 1, January 8, 1994
devibmpc.txt 10373
Information on the Developers Toolbox from T&S Versand
dinodude.txt 4573
The JAGUAR game: EVOLUTION of DINO DUDES - Passwords and Comments
dkcfaq 44959
King Kung's Donkey Kong Country FAQ ver. 1.0
dkcfaq.txt 70292
Donkey Kong Country FAQ Version 1.0 (December 20, 1994)
dkcgg 9042
OCF's Donkey Kong Country Game Genie Codes by Orlando C. Fernando Version 2.0 (February 2, 1995)
dsfxdocs.txt 27346
DSFX - SFX 65816 disassembler v1.20 by The Voice Over (1992)
dune2faq.txt 37113
Dune II: The Battle For Arrakis Sega Megadrive version by D.Kennedy (January 21, 1995)
ecco.txt 22757
Ecco The Dolphin Frequently Asked Questions Version 1.5 by Aleksandr Berland
ewjguide 23791
Earthworm Jim Guide Version 2.0 by ManoS
ewjsnes.txt 23566
Earthworm Jim Unearthed! Spoiler guide to EWJ by peter Booth (December 1, 1994)
famicon.txt 22277
The Famicon CPU G65SC802 / G65SC816 Instruction Set, Compiled by Carnivore/BeerMacht (August 23, 1992)
famitec2.txt 7499
Documentation on Famicom Hardware Register Locations 9Version 1.1)
fchild2.lst 1863
GAME LIST: Fairchild Channel F (March 16, 1994) by Dean Dierschow
ff2faq.txt 60248
Final Fantasy II FAQ by Adam Lederman and Kelly Gillilan
ff3faq 185234
Final Fantasy 3 FAQ Version 4 by Wizard 201, JonN2000 & King Kung (January 1995)
ff3guide.txt 169463
Final Fantasy III Guide by Mynock (Version 1.5)
fflwt 19760
TGSSZ Walk-Through #1: Final Fantasy Legend
ffs_move.txt 40346
Fatal Fury 2 Special FAQ (1994)
fight4lf.txt 6640
The Unofficial Fight For Life FAQ v. 0.9
finlfan2.txt 28141
Final Fantasy II Frequently Asked Questions and Strategy Guide Version 1 (February 11, 1993)
fmc_cpu.txt 23837
Famicon CPU G65SC802 / G65SC816 Instruction Set by Carnivore/BeerMacht (August 23, 1994)
form16.txt 3129
A 1.6mb IBM PC Disk Formatting Program (Documentation) April 20th, 1992
gamecds.txt 38081
Video Game Background Music FAQ Version 2.03 (June 29, 1994)
genesisj.amf 12173
Sega NBA JAM FAQ! v1.1
ggenie.txt 4840
Information on Using the Game Genie for Genesis (January 8, 1993)
gnup02.txt 68938
Game Genie for Sega Genesis Codes
gvg.zap 10417
Guerilla Video Gaming by Craig E. Engler
hardware.txt 16507
Sega Genesis Hardware Internals - Revised (April 7, 1993) by Rick McTeague
ho-news.txt 10794
Ho-Wei Wong Tells you about the latest in Game Copiers
inter.zap 9996
An Interview with Chris Eisnaugle of Vor Technologies Inc.
intv.lst 6549
List of Games for the Mattel Intellivision
jag_eet.txt 8417
The Atari Jaguar is an IBM Animal (July 5, 1993)
jag_may.txt 40162
The Jaguar Teckboard (April 19, 1994 Version)
jag_out.txt 30236
Transcription of Dateline: Atari (November 4, 1993)
jag_rels.txt 8983
Chris Millar of Delphi and Andy Eddy discuss the new Atari Jaguar
jagcheat.txt 13065
Atari Jaguar Game Cheats and Codes Compiled by Clay Halliwell (March 8, 1995)
jagfaq.txt 30557
The Atari Jaguar Frequently Asked Questions (January 30, 1994)
jeffmint.txt 13622
Interview with Jeff "Yak the Hairy" Minter by Richard Karsmakers
joystick.txt 5669
Genesis Joystick Pinout Information (March 2, 1993)
lap.txt 38613
List of Arcade Ports by Kris Kelley (February 1995)
lethalen.txt 1979
Lethal Enforcers II: Gun Fighters: Konami Sends in the Big Guns!
lostvkng.txt 30821
The Lost Vikings Transcripts by Rick Furr (April 12, 1994)
lynxrvws.txt 60494
Some Lynx Reviews (February 25, 1992)
macro.txt 15236
Microvision FAQ Version 0.04 (February 9, 1995)
mana.txt 17728
Secret of Mana FAQ Version 0.2 (January 6, 1994)
mbox 300416
The Usenet Lynx FAQ (January 1, 1993) by Rob Jung
mcfaq 64559
Maximum Carnage FAQ version 1.2
mdcheats.txt 11573
MegaDrive Secrets Removed from the Genesis Secret List Version 4 (January 19, 1992)
mdemulat.pre 10820
Information on the megadrive/Genesis Emulator for the Amiga from Advanced Emulation Limited
megaconv.txt 7194
Documentation for MEGACONV 1.0: Converter for MegaDrive game files between MultiGameDoctor 2, Super Magic Drive and Raw binary data formats for AMIGA & PC
megamanx.txt 29214
Passwords and information on Mega Man X by Rick Furr (1994)
megamnx2.txt 17522
Mega Man X 2 FAQ v1.5
mgd.txt 11911
Information on a List of Game Doctors (Game Copiers) Including Origin and Capabilities
mghcode1.txt 14510
Game Finger Codes for the MGH by Johnny 5 (May 14, 1993)
nba_jam.txt 32136
How to Win at NBA Jam, by Rudolph S. Vance and William G. Henderson
nbajam.ref 1837
Nearly all the NBA Jam Codes
nbajam1.13 32018
How to Win at NBA Jam by Randolph S. Vance and William G. Henderson Version 1.13 (August 18th, 1993)
nbajam1.17 55337
NBA Jam FAQ Tips and Info by Fast Eddie Version 1.17 (February 19, 1994)
nbajamte.v2 34751
NBA Jam Tournament Edition FAQ Version 2.0 (April 26, 1994)
nbate_cn.txt 19636
NBA Jam Tournament Edition for Consoles FAQ Version 1.1 (February 25, 1995)
nbate_sn.txt 18177
NBA Jam Tournament Edition FAQ 1.0a (February 21, 1995)
odyssey2.lst 3203
List of Games from the Magnavox Odysey II
pac-man2.txt 4614
Review of Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures
powrinst.txt 6813
Power Instinct FAQ Release 0 (January 1994)
programm.ing 43672
Sega Programming FAQ February 5, 1994, Third Edition
raid.txt 4840
Newsflash: Customs RAIDS/CONFISCATION of Copiers in United Kingdom (September 2nd, 1992)
rawfaq 6090
RAQ FAQ 1.4 by Robert Fleming
rev_x.txt 39695
The Official Revolution X Frequently Asked Questions List by the Immortal Spam (Revision 1.4, July 11, 1994)
samsho.pt1 41030
Samurai Shodown FAQ Release 12 (December 1, 1994)
samsho.pt2 46711
Samurai Shodown FAQ Release 12 (December 1, 1994) Part II
schem 7475
Schematics for Connecting a Genesis Joypad to an Amiga
secod1.txt 2613
Game Genie for Sega Genesis Codes (1993)
secretso 179589
Secrets of the Sega Sages Volume 1, Number 4 (February 1994) by Brian Preble
sega-rgb.txt 2214
Connecting a Sega Genesis to an RGB Monitor by Dennis Gale Brown
segacd.tip 5655
SEGA CD Game Secrets Version 5 (August 21, 1993)
segafaq.txt 43939
Sega Programming FAQ February 5, 1994, Third Edition by Henry Rieke
segaprog.txt 75311
Sega Programming FAQ September 14, 1994, Sixth Edition by Henry Rieke
send.txt 5202
Super Magicom File Upload Program (Version 2.1) Documentation by R. Bubba Magillicutty
shadowrn.txt 20064
Shadowrun Walkthrough Version 1.05 (March 15, 1994)
shinefrc.txt 20579
Guide to 'Shining Force" for Sega Genesis by Col. G. L. Sicherman Version 0.5 (February 6, 1995)
smc_spli.txt 3538
Super Magicom File Split Program V1.0 Documentation by Nightshade of High Society
smkart.txt 50805
Super Mario Kart Frequently Asked Questions and Strategy Guide v1.0 (July 13, 1994)
sms.lst 6813
Collection of Games for the Sega Master System
sms1_06.txt 54995
Sega Master System Frequently Asked Questions v1.06 by Jeff Bogumil
smwfaq 37414
Super Mario World Guide
snsfaq 5076
Saturday Night Slamasters FAQ by Marlin Liew Version 2.0 (October 13, 1994)
sound.txt 13532
The Bloody SPC-700, an overview of a Nasty Chip for Sound by Paradis
sswtips 2636
Super Star Wars Tips by the TOMinator
studio2.lst 902
List of Games for the RCA Studio II
swc.txt 11175
The Super Wild Card & Super Magicom Programmers Handbook by MicroChip/Evolution/Submission
switch.txt 3217
Sega NTSC/PAL and Language Switch on the Sega MegaDrive (November 30, 1993)
t2.txt 19904
How to WIN at Terminator 2:Judgement Day (Version 1.1) by Randolph S. Vance
td-t.txt 6453
The Top 20 Console Game Charts 7 by Tomdoc of Crystal
techspec.txt 7073
Documentation of Fami hardware Register and Locations and Explanations by Corsair and Kari (Version 1.0)
tg16.txt 138146
90 Big Reviews of Turbografx-16, TurboDuo, and PC-Engine by Clarence K. Din, aka The TurboKid (january 11, 1993)
ti99.lst 4602
Game List for the Texas Instruments TI/994a
tow-doom.txt 91130
The Tower Of Doom FAQ Version 2 - August 5, 1994 by Roland Acton
trs_coco.lst 2572
Game List for the Tandy Color Computer
ufo-pass.txt 6597
The password for UFO Super Drive Pro 6 as of Nov. 20, 1992
vectrex.lst 2483
Vectrex Game List by Dean Dierschow, 1994
video_ga.txt 7309
A Quick History of Home Video Game Systems
vpiracy5.txt 10099
Video Game Piracy Information or Time to Trash the Amiga (January 14th, 1992)
wizzlizz.txt 16907
Wizz 'n Lizz Hint/Cheat FAQ Version 1.3 (February 26, 1995) by Nick 'Jinxed' Brassard
wndrboy.txt 14880
Wonder Boy in Monster World V Assistance by Matt Latrobe
ymguide 8975
Young Merlin Guide by Brian P. Minnebo (July 26, 1994)
zeldafaq 28903
The Legend of Zelda FAQ by Alan "Linkmaster" Mitsugi (February 25, 1995) v1.0

There are 136 files for a total of 3,711,782 bytes.
There is 1 directory.