Mailbag - Understanding How Cheat Codes Are Entered

It can be difficult to understand how to enter cheat codes, especially if you aren't familiar with video games. For this reason I've created several pages in the past that describe in great detail the steps needed to activate a certain code on a specific gaming platform. Even with this extra material available there are situations where the given code examples may not be enough help. Or even worse, some of the codes add to the confusion. Such is the case of visitor W. Hunter Smith, who sent in the following question.

Question
W. Hunter Smith writes:
I'm new to entering cheats and have run across a couple of websites it appears you (Jason Rybka) put together. At (link) there is a cheat titled "Enable all girlfriends" and it is: WUPB-B7F4-XPX09. However, as 'WUPB'... is totally foreign to me, I found a website on "How to enter PS2 Cheats and codes" at (link). After reading the how to site I still do not understand how I would begin to enter WUPB-B7F4-XPX09, or any other cheat/code on the first link above. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Answer
The reason you're having a problem understanding the code is because the code page you are looking at (the first link) has codes that require the use of a third party cheat device. In this case, the Action Replay Max. Put simply, Action Replay is a cheating device that uses a combination of hardware and software to alter a game's runtime code. For more information on the Action Replay cheat device see here: Action Replay (definition, links).

If you too have landed on this site and aren't exactly sure where to begin, then I suggest reading the following articles. They should bring you up to speed on how cheat codes work, where they come from, how to enter them, and other useful general info on the topic.

What are cheat codes? (are they safe?, what is a cheat device, general info)

Why use cheat codes? (surely you have your own reason, why do you cheat?)

How to enter cheat codes on the PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, PSP, Wii, DS, DSi.

!!! FIND A CHEAT !!! - Cheat code finder.

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