20 Things Only 30-Something Gamers Will Understand

Having said that, cheating isn't a new thing in the video game world.

1998 saw the release of Treasure Island Dizzy, widely regarded to be one of the toughest games to crack. It was cassette-based which meant there were no saves and just one life and as if playing as an egg who rolled back and forth collecting coins (this was pre-Sonic) the evil three-item inventory system was just plain wrong.

As soon as Codemasters realised they could milk the gamer for a few extra quid they set up video game telephone helplines on a premium-rate number, this one in particular was one of the most infamous and voiced by a sexy Barbara Windsor soundalike.

It felt naughty and mysterious, like having first contact with alien life. Although the message was pre-recorded you could never be quite sure that the distant voice at the end of a crackly phone line wouldn't start talking to you in person.

Nintendo offered the Game Counsellors hotline and SEGA, Konami, Capcom and Atari were all at it too - and as parents confronted their children over sky high phone bills the 0898 premium rate crackdown soon followed.

A few scratchy recordings of these helplines are still knocking around on YouTube if you know where to look, preserved in all their retro glory.