10 Video Game Accessories EVERYONE Owned (Until They Didn't)

Although the Game Genie popularised the concept of a cheat cartridge, Mad Catz's GameShark perfected it. Using this device, gamers could access codes, allowing them to cheat in almost any mainstream title. With a press of the button, you could reward yourself with unlimited lives, invincibility, or access unreachable parts of levels (like that weird island in GoldenEye 007's Dam!)

Unlike earlier cheating devices, the GameShark worked as a memory card, meaning the cheat codes could be saved onto the flash memory. Once you used a code, you didn't have to reenter it to access the cheat again. As an added bonus, the storage of the GameShark was better than the standard memory card.

Originally released for the Sega Saturn and the PlayStation, gamers fell in love with the GameShark immediately. As a result, variations of the device were released on other consoles, including the N64, GameCube, PS2, and the Xbox.

Mad Catz would go on to file for bankruptcy in 2017, making the GameShark a thing of the past. Thankfully the company relaunched one year later in 2018, though it doesn't look like the cheat cartridge will be returning any time soon.