Password (video Gaming) - Rationale and History

Rationale and History

Passwords were used when storage was either impossible or expensive. On early ROM cartridges, games could not be saved without an additional memory card being integrated into the game, significantly increasing (often doubling) the manufacturing cost. By using passwords, nothing needed to be written on the cartridge, as the password itself contained all the information needed to continue the game, and thus a memory card was not necessary, lowering costs. These costs were particularly a concern on low volume titles by smaller third-party developers.

With the advent of optical based media at the tail end of the 16-bit era, data could not be stored on the game media, and a saved game required the introduction of non-volatile memory to the console either in the form of internal memory or memory cards (both of which were introduced with the Sega CD) which stored game data once the system was powered off; passwords avoided the need for this.

In the 32-bit era (fifth generation), passwords retained some limited practical use in conserving memory blocks, due to the small number of memory blocks on original PlayStation memory cards (15 blocks per card). Platform and puzzle games were famous for this, as often the only data required is the level achieved – hence easily encoded in a simple password – and thus using one of the limited blocks for this data was seen as wasteful.

Some modern video games still use passwords as a homage to the early days of gaming, or for some of the advantages listed below, but they are now rare.

Passwords, as with saved games, have been primarily used for home systems, but have found some use in arcades, as in Gauntlet Legends, which uses passwords to record player statistics/abilities and progress.