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Gran Turismo 4 Cheat Codes Discovered Nearly 20 Years After Release

Cheat codes have been found for Gran Turismo 4, which launched almost two decades ago in 2005 for PlayStation 2.

These cheat codes were discovered by Twitter user Nenkaai, but it’s unclear how they found them in the first place. These newly uncovered chat codes provide benefits for players when the corresponding buttons have been input into the game. However, they can only be used once 365 in-game days have passed in Gran Turismo 4:

  • Earn 10,000,000 Credits in the GT Mode screen: Select, Left, Right, Right, Down, Up, Up, Left, Down, Up, Right, Left, Down, L1, R1, Select
  • Pass any license in the License selection screen: Select, R1, Select, R1, Select, L2, L2, R2, R2, L1, Select, L1, Select
  • Earn a Gold rating at any specific license test in the License Test selection screen: Select, Select, R1, R2, L2, L2, Select, L1, R1, Select, R2, L1, Select
  • Earn a Gold rating at any event in the Event Course Selection screen: Select, L1, Up, Up, Select, R1, Down, Down, Select, L2, Select, R2, Select

Furthermore, the prizes that come with earning a gold rating in events are also unlocked as well and 24-hour races can be skipped over. The codes apparently even work in the 2006 motorcycle game Tourist Trophy, which uses the same game engine that Gran Turismo 4 does.

This is quite the find for such an old game to have new discoveries, as the franchise is one of the most influential ever in the racing genre. The latest entry, Gran Turismo 7, was released last year for PS4 and PS5, as well as PS VR2 through a free in-game update.

In IGN Gran Turismo 4 review, we said, “GT4 is the greatest ideation of GT3 that’s possible on the PS2. There’s no doubt that this game absolutely kills everything else around in terms of graphics, sound effects, and force feedback. The license tests, circuits, missions, hundreds of cars, and dozens of tracks all add up to what is still one hell of an addictive racing game.”

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He’s been writing about the industry since 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR, and Variety.

When not writing about video games, George is playing video games. What a surprise! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey

Remnant 2 – The First Hands-On Preview | IGN First

In nearly every way, Remnant 2 feels like it’s shaping up to be a proper sequel to Gunfire Games’ underrated soulslike from 2019. Lovingly referred to as “Dark Souls with guns” by its community, Remnant: From The Ashes punched above its weight in many ways with just a handful of scrappy indie developers working on the project at the outset. Four years later, that team has the support of its new titanic parent company Embracer Group and has ballooned to over 60 people and counting, and in my time playing Remnant 2, the results of that doubling down were clear: this sequel seems like it’s going to absolutely rule. The gunplay is heads and tails above its predecessor, the buildcrafting is an RPG nerd’s dream, the enemies and bosses are relentless and badass, and the vastly improved procedural generation engine is one of the most ambitious things I’ve seen from a soulslike in a very long time.

The night before I got my hands on Remnant 2, I spent some time replaying the first game in my hotel room, and the thing that immediately struck me when booting up the sequel was just how much better it looks. Where From The Ashes was a bit drab aesthetically, Remnant 2 is absolutely bursting with color and detailed characters. Whether I was hanging around the rustic sanctuary of Ward 13 or running through Yaesha under the glow of an eerie crimson sun, the leap forward is no mere facelift – it’s a complete overhaul.

But more importantly, Remnant 2 feels much more on par with its third-person shooter peers than its predecessor in terms of both movement and combat. For starters, melee combat is not only a practical option compared to the first game’s wimpy slashing, but it actually feels good to get up close and beat someone down when bullets just won’t do. I used everything from shotguns to rifles, and even a crossbow, and each felt satisfying and ferocious (even if some felt a bit overpowered in the early version I played).

The number of enemies and dastardly ways they attack you also seems like a step up, just from the small number of biomes I was able to explore. Whether I was fighting giant, slippery lizards, floating tentacled aliens, or creepy root-infested cultists, there was always a new enemy waiting around every corner.

“The sequel’s killer feature though, is the ambitious improvements it aims to make to its procedurally generated levels.”

Boss fights have also been tuned up, especially when it comes to the first game’s irritating overuse of adds during them. Gunfire Games clearly heard the feedback from players loud and clear, and most bosses I took down either made light use of them or made them the primary obstacle while some other puzzle waited to be solved. For example, I fought one boss called the Mother Mind, a giant plant monster who bombarded me with explosive pollen, and faced only a few floating adds in between damage phases, while in another fight against an enemy called Legion, a dark deity who tried to drive my character insane, I fought off waves of adds while trying to figure out the trick to overcoming the boss’ maddening gaze.

Moving around has also been reworked, as jumping between gaps is now possible – and my prayers have been answered regarding the first game’s most annoying feature: the stamina meter. Now it only applies during combat, meaning you don’t have to worry about getting arbitrarily slowed down every few seconds when exploring the world. Jumping around and climbing makes exploration and engaging the bad guys a lot more interesting, since clever use of verticality and putting gaps between you and your enemy allow for some fun moments. Plus, now there’s dozens of exciting new ways to fall to your death – something I was apparently fond of doing.

The sequel’s killer feature though, is the ambitious improvements it aims to make to its procedurally generated levels. Where the first Remnant mixed up the layout of levels and which enemies would spawn, Remnant 2 takes it to an entirely new level by randomly generating practically every element of your adventure. In fact, even the tutorial will differ from player-to-player as the starting area is assigned randomly between a few different options. Beyond that, you can expect boss fights, side quests, NPCs and storylines to all differ from that of your friends, making each new playthrough feel like a significantly different experience.

Finally, there’s the numerous ways in which character buildcrafting has been improved. Instead of picking a base class and slapping on a few weapons and modifiers from there, Remnant 2 has a staggering number of options for you to choose from, like its fantastic multiclass system that lets you mix and match archetypes like the Gunslinger or the Handler to create a unique cocktail of perks and abilities. Beyond that, the number of trinkets and items you can use to customize your build has been expanded, including new ways to customize your Dragon Heart healing item that may prove to be a game changer for players.

I played quite a bit of Remnant: From The Ashes, but everything I’ve seen from its sequel points to Remnant 2 being my next addiction. Simply put, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. Here’s hoping the finished product turns out as promising as my early peek at it suggested.

10 Years Later, BioShock Infinite Remains One of the Boldest AAA Shooters Ever Made

A decade ago director Ken Levine and his studio, Irrational Games, introduced us to the rotting society of Columbia with a choice: would you like to throw a baseball at an interracial couple, or instead hurl it at the bigoted announcer goading you on? Will you commit a hate crime, or stand against oppression? Regardless of the option you pick, the scenario plays out identically, with the ball left aside as protagonist Booker DeWitt uses a power tool to obliterate the face of a police officer. The sequence is both a bold introduction to BioShock Infinite’s exploration of America’s sordid relationship with race and an indication that such an exploration is going to be deeply flawed.

The mishandling of this moment telegraphs all of BioShock Infinite’s problems; that it will eventually descend into a situation that paints Black revolutionist Daisy Fitzroy as a monster no better than Columbia’s ultra-nationalist leader, Zachary Comstock. That you will spend the final half of the game gunning down the oppressed working classes. That its message will eventually be lost among its multiverse ambitions. And so BioShock Infinite doomed itself to live in the shadow of its greatest mistake.

It’s impossible to forgive those mistakes. But BioShock Infinite is not just the sum of its errors. On its tenth anniversary, it remains an admirably bold FPS that confronts topics of racism and classism in a manner that few AAA games have attempted since. While those explorations falter in the second half, Infinite’s first chapters tackle its themes with unflinching confidence in both its own convictions and its audience. It deplores the opinions of Columbia’s ruling class and industrial leaders, and uses deeply uncomfortable language and imagery to depict the rancid heart of this cloudbourne city. Ten years ago, such themes in a video game were considered topical. But in 2023, as multiple prominent battles over human rights are fought in the real world, the city’s approach to evangelical populism makes Columbia more haunting than it’s ever been.

Bioshock Infinite remains an admirably bold FPS that confronts topics of racism and classism in a manner that few AAA games have attempted since.

Many of Infinite’s victories are in worldbuilding, with the lore of Columbia depicted through museum exhibit-like scenes that play out dystopian vignettes. These are showing their age – hang about too long and the illusion is shattered when you realise these characters stand in place for eternity – but they remain powerful observations of society’s crimes. I still often think about the industrial district, where workers fight a bidding war over low-paying jobs in a prescient condemnation of the gig economy.

Sequences like these are the result of Irrational’s surprising pivot from the systemic design of the original BioShock to a heavily scripted approach, crafting what is essentially a steampunk Call of Duty campaign. And I don’t say that disparagingly; while Infinite’s precise direction abandons the mechanical ecosystem of Big Daddies and Little Sisters that made Rapture feel so organic, it replaces it with a focused and purposeful rollercoaster. This provides a fair share of Infinity Ward-ish dramatic setpieces, but just as frequently uses its iron grip to slow down the ride. The first half of the story is surprisingly light on shootouts, instead content to let its examinations of oppression breathe while Booker and his NPC companion, Elizabeth, soak up the horrors of the society around them.

Using a show-don’t-tell approach, Infinite’s messages require piecing together from the cues found in its satirical, hyper-nationalistic visual design and flawed characters. The best example can be found in the Hall of Heroes, a deeply ugly monument to Columbia’s involvement in two real-world events: the Boxer Rebellion – where the US aided in the violent quashing of an anti-colonial uprising in China – and the massacre of nearly 300 Native Americans at Wounded Knee. Booker had a direct hand in Wounded Knee, and has since come to regret it. But despite making him aware of his poor choices, Infinite refuses to redeem him. “If you take away all the parts of Booker DeWitt you tried to erase, what’s left?” asks Cornelius Slade, Booker’s former comrade-in-arms. The answer is a man who recognises the world’s injustices and his part in them, but who does nothing about it beyond severing his connection to those problems. DeWitt is a messy reflection of our society’s own failings, brushing aside responsibility despite there still being work to do.

The delicate balance of story and shooting is lost in the second half. As Daisy Fitzroy’s Vox Populi rebellion kicks off, so does Infinite’s transformation into a full-bore shooter. That causes its own problems, but also acts as a showcase for a surprisingly swift and satisfying combat system that remains terrific a decade later. Multi-tiered arenas are linked by the zipline-like Sky Rails, which inject a significant amount of motion into each fight. While most shooters of the early 2010s were still obsessively following the hunker-down model of Gears of War, BioShock Infinite wanted you to leap from floor to rail to balcony to rail again in a display of athletic violence. In hindsight, it recognised the importance of continual movement years before Doom 2016 and Titanfall 2 embraced the trend and made it their own.

That momentum is paired with weapons that still largely retain their punch, but the real ballistic spice is the combination of ordnance with supernatural powers. Infinite’s vigors lost the immersive sim qualities of BioShock’s plasmids – fire won’t melt ice here – but their recalibration as a purely offensive tool is still successful. Lifting a crowd with Bucking Bronco and blasting them from the air like flailing clay pigeons is still a treat, and discovering which combinations of vigors produce special effects means combat stays layered throughout the campaign. It takes longer than ideal to hit its full potential, but when it does it proves itself as quite a singular experience. While games like Deathloop take similar delight in combining guns and magic, Infinite’s strong array of powers and the way all eight can be used in combination has yet to be equally matched.

But, as previously mentioned, as BioShock Infinite reaches its combat highs it succumbs to its story lows. In the early hours, Booker explains to Elizabeth that there’s “precious need of folks like Daisy Fitzroy… ‘cause of folks like me.” It’s his most poignant revelation; a recognition that his former years as a Pinkerton union buster caused immeasurable pain for the working class. But by the time of the rebellion he considers Fitzroy no different to Comstock, and so too does Irrational; the Vox Populi become the aggressive defacto foe to be shot on sight. It’s a baffling turn around from Infinite’s strong first half.

By ratcheting up the action there’s no space for nuance, and so the whole thing comes across as a poor reading of Malcom X.

Thanks to Elizabeth’s obsession with Paris and Les Misérables, it’s clear that this was supposed to be an exploration of the French Revolution and the dangers of violent movements fuelled by hate. But by ratcheting up the action there’s no space for nuance, and so the whole thing comes across as a poor reading of Malcom X and the US civil rights movement rather than any kind of interesting dissection of classism. And before you know it, Infinite has moved on to its grand multiverse-hopping finale; a wonderfully dramatic conclusion that sadly leaves its more serious story threads as little more than frayed ends.

Nonetheless, I still love BioShock Infinite. It challenges the idea of what a sequel should be – narratively and mechanically – which positions it as more of a BioShock from another plane of the multiverse than it is a direct continuation of what came before it. But more than that, to play a AAA game that is transparently about something is a rare treat, and to play one with the depth of world design as Irrational’s work is even rarer. Ten years later it remains bold, compelling, and arguably incredibly foolish. And I hope that Ken Levine and his team at Ghost Story Games tries to do it all over again with their upcoming FPS, Judas. There is value in a mainstream shooter that tackles society’s ills, even if it takes a few attempts to get it right.

Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Features Editor.

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Gameplay Presentation Coming Tomorrow From Eiji Aonuma

Upcoming Nintendo Switch exclusive The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is getting a ten minute gameplay presentation tomorrow from Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma.

Announced in a tweet from Nintendo of America (below), the presentation (which wasn’t explicitly called a Nintendo Direct) will take place on March 28 at 7am Pacific / 10am Eastern / 3pm UK (so midnight in AEST).

“Join The Legend of Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma for roughly ten minutes of gameplay from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,” the tweet said, adding that it can be watched on Nintendo’s YouTube channel.

The presentation will be the first major, uninterrupted chunk of Tears of the Kingdom gameplay we’ve seen, with Nintendo previously only sharing shorter clips in various trailers.

While we’ve done our best to break these down and extract every piece of possible information, seeing an extended look at the gameplay alongside commentary from Aonuma will shine a whole new light on the highly anticipated Breath of the Wild sequel.

We already know that Tears of the Kingdom will have the largest file size of any first party Nintendo Switch game, include classic enemies from Ocarina of Time, and cost a heftier than usual $70 to match its scope, but the main reason fans are excited is because Breath of the Wild is considered one of the best games of all time.

In our 10/10 review, IGN said: “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is evocative, exhilarating, and a masterclass in open-world design.”

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Former Playground Games Studio Head Gavin Raeburn Forms New Studio

Forza Horizon developer Playground Games’ co-founder and former studio head Gavin Raeburn has revealed his new AAA studio Lighthouse Games.

Raeburn and “a team of world class developers” are currently working on an unannounced new IP, but shared no details as to what this will be or if it’s even in the racing genre.

As the former executive producer on several Dirt and GRID games, however, and the studio head of Playground as it produced five Forza Horizon games, it’s perhaps likely that Lighthouse is working on a new racing game.

Raeburn is joined by 30 former colleagues including “key founding members” of Playground Games and other industry-leading talent, again alluding to the creation of something new in the racing game genre.

“I’m delighted that 30 former colleagues and other industry heavyweights have chosen to join me at Lighthouse,” Raeburn said.

“With Horizon, Playground and I created one of the most successful Xbox franchises of all time. We delivered significant commercial success year after year, to massive critical acclaim, following the success from my time at Codemasters leading Dirt, Grid and F1.

“That DNA is now at Lighthouse, and with it, we intend to build something truly special using all our experience to create a new genre-defining franchise.”

It’ll be a while before we find out what that franchise is, of course, given that Lighthouse Games as a studio has only been announced today, and likely years longer before the game is released.

Raeburn’s pedigree speaks for itself and he wasn’t wrong about the success of Forza Horizon. IGN has awarded every single game in the franchise at least a 9/10 in our reviews, with the latest Forza Horizon 5 reaching a new level and earning masterpiece status.

Playground has deviated from the Forza Horizon series for the first time in its history though, as it’s now working on the Fable reboot coming to Xbox Series X and S.

It’s unclear if this pivot has anything to do with racing veteran Raeburn’s departure, though he is part of the second group of developers to leave Playground in almost as many months. Forza Horizon 5 creative director Mike Brown left to form Maverick Games in January, taking lots of top talent with him.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

UK Daily Deals: Score the Perfect PS5 2TB SSD for Just £125 and Maximise Your Storage

You can currently get a brilliant PS5 SSD for just £125 in the UK, making this one of the best PS5 SSD discounts we’ve ever seen. Discounted 2TB SSDs have been sitting around the £150-180 price range for a good few months now, but this deal really blows the rest out of the water. For just £125 you can get a great PS5 compatible SSD, with 2TB of extra storage, and a heatsink included to boot. This deal is seriously tremendous and I highly implore you to consider it if you haven’t yet expanded your console storage further (especially since the PS5 only comes with 667GB of useable space).

TL;DR – Best UK Deals Right Now

Perfect PS5 2TB SSD with Heatsink for £125

The Netac NV7000 is compatible with PS5 consoles for an ultra-fast M.2 SSD storage expansion, with read speeds of up to 7000/6700MB/s (PS5 requires 5500MB/s or faster). Not only that, but it includes the required heatsink built in so you can have a no mess, no fuss install process.

For just £124.49, and a 5-year warranty included, this is a steal and well worth your attention. To get the deal, make sure to scroll to and click the ‘Apply 25% Voucher’ before adding to the basket and checking out. If you need any help installing your new drive, see our how-to guide here, and the how-to install video here.

Latest UK Random Deals: My Top Picks Right Now

It’s a roll of the dice. These are my absolute favourite deals that are available right now, but don’t necessarily fit anywhere else, making them a little bit more random compared to everything else in Daily Deals.

Xbox Series S for £199 (was £249)

Xbox Series S consoles have once again dropped to just under £200 in the UK. The last time we saw a similar deal was during Black Friday, so this is great offer and definitely worth your consideration if you’ve been thinking about getting the Series S in 2023.

20% Off Select eBay Sellers With Code CATCH20

We all know eBay codes can pack a serious punch, and the new promo CATCH20 is no joke. Check out all the very best deals in the sale through our link below.

Xbox Controllers On Sale for £39.99 (was £54.99)

Argos also has the controller for £39.99, and there’s a £5 off £40 code if you sign up for their marketing emails. Seemingly the Xbox controller won’t get you over the £40 threshold, but it’s definitely worth mentioning in case you’re buying more from Argos as well.

Amazing PS5 and Xbox 4K OLED TV On Sale from £809

It’s hard to describe how incredible 4K OLED TVs are until you see one but trust me on this, the LG OLED C1 is the perfect TV for PS5 and Xbox Series X. With 4K HDR and 120Hz capabilities through its HDMI 2.1 ports, you won’t be let down by this incredible TVG. If you’re looking to upgrade your setup, this is the TV to go for, especially with it being this cheap for a limited time.

Preorder LG OLED evo C3 Right Now – Release Date April 10

If you’ve got a bit more cash to spare on your next TV, then here are a few more options for you from LG. The new LG OLED evo C3 is set to launch in April, and you can preorder the top-of-the-line TV right now. A new C series releasing is a good sign for future discounts on the C1 and C2 models as well, so stay tuned for more discounts in the future.

New Amazon Fire 4K TV and QLED TVs Preorder Discount

If you’re after something a little more affordable (but with still plenty of quality), then look no further than the upcoming Amazon Fire 4K TV sets. This is a proper preorder deal, and well worth considering if you need a new TV in the summer (perhaps for the kids rooms, or your gaming den?).

You can pick up the new 4K TV for as cheap as £269 when preordering, which will arrive by April 12. Or, if you want to opt for the new QLED option, the 43″ is down to just £349 when preordering for June 1. Prices rise per size, so check out all the other options below as well.

The Last of Us Season 1 4K Steelbook Preorders Now Live

The first season of HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation is getting a Blu-ray release in the summer. Those in the UK can already preorder The Last of Us Season 1, with the full release coming on July 17, 2023.

It will be available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD, and there’s also a unique 4K UHD Steelbook edition up for grabs as well. In terms of pricing, the 4K version will be £40, while the Blu-ray will be £30, and the DVD will be £25. There’s even a new Steelbook edition for £50 as well, check out the relevant links below to secure your order.

Best Video Game Deals Right Now

Check out all the very best video game deals available right now in the UK, featuring plenty of incredible discounts on PS5 and PlayStation games. March is a great month for savings on games, so snap up your favourites now before we see the month out.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

New Final Fantasy 16 Trailer Shows Off the World of Valisthea

Square Enix has shared a new look at Final Fantasy 16, this time showing off the variety of locations players will visit in the world of Valisthea.

Shared as part of Square Enix’s PAX East panel, the new footage shows protagonist Clive running through several newly-revealed locales. You can take a look at the new trailer for yourself below.

This video really focuses on the expansive areas found in Valisthea, as we see a montage of Clive looking over a canyon with an enormous waterfall, riding on a Chocobo through a desert, walking through a small, grassy village, exploring a castle on a dark and stormy night, and a lot more.

Final Fantasy 16 won’t have an open world, instead focusing on large, segmented areas. But if there was any doubt on just how expansive the landscape would be, this trailer will likely put those worries to rest.

Previously, Final Fantasy 16 director Hiroshi Takai explained that Final Fantasy 16’s world is constructed from multiple maps, with four large-scale zones that are “about two kilometers by two kilometers.”

Players will open the world map to travel instantly to these areas across Valisthea’s landscape, and upon completing the main objective, players will head back to the hub area called the Hideaway. And it looks like there will be plenty to discover across the game’s 35-hour campaign.

Final Fantasy 16 launches on PlayStation 5 on June 22. For more coverage, check out our Final Fantasy 16 preview, where we said, “should the story, exploration, and characters live up to what I’ve seen of the combat so far, then Final Fantasy 16 will be a JRPG worth being excited about.”

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Dark and Darker Removed From Steam Following DMCA Takedown

The dungeon-crawling PvPvE game Dark and Darker has been delisted from Steam after developer Ironmace was served with a cease and desist order and subsequent DMCA takedown.

As reported by Eurogamer, it appears Dark and Darker’s developer, Ironmace, may be in hot water as players recently noticed some of the game’s features abruptly stopped working, such as PvP and online co-op, followed by portions of its Steam page being scrubbed overnight including all trailers, screenshots, and store description.

An official statement was posted on the Dark and Darker Discord (by way of Reddit) stating, “To all our fans, we have recently been served a cease and desist letter and DMCA takedown by Nexon regarding Dark and Darker based on distorted claims.”

“We are currently working with our legal team to remedy this issue in the best manner possible. Due to the sensitive legal nature of this issue we must be careful with our statements so as to not jeopardize our position,” the Discord post read. “We ask for your understanding as we work to get the game back up as quickly as possible. Please know that we will do all that is possible for our fans. Thanks!”

Earlier this month, Ironmace had its offices searched by Korean officials on speculation that it might be in posession of stolen code and assets as nearly half of Ironmace’s 20-person team is made up of former Nexon employees. Although, Ironmace’s official statement regarding the matter was that the search was a “quick process” and “nothing was found.”

As for now, the future of Dark and Darker is uncertain. Currently, there’s no trace of the game’s page on Steam, as searching for it will bring you to the Steam home page. However, its community message board still appears to be active, with many fans confused by the sudden delisting.

Dark and Darker was scheduled to have another public playtest period run from April 14, 2023 to April 19, 2023, but as of now, it appears that may not happen.

Matthew Adler is a Commerce, Features, Guides, News, Previews, and Reviews writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @MatthewAdler as well as check out his curated IGN Playlists.

Stop Blowing on Your NES Carts!

In the 1980s, everyone who owned a Nintendo Entertainment System knew the only way to fix a faulty game was to eject it, hold it to your lips, and blow on it. If it didn’t work after that, you simply repeated the process, with more force, until it finally worked. This was not only wrong but it was super gross, because you basically just sprayed spit particles all over your copy of Super Mario Bros. 3.

On top of being unhygienic, your kid-spit also probably contributed to corrosion on your cart’s contacts, and if your mouth was particularly juicy, a glob of nasty saliva could actually short some of the contacts, and that’s bad.

But what’s the real solution to this very real problem? Well, there are two that immediately spring to mind: one of which will cost you nothing but your time, and the other will cost you like $20 maybe? Depends. Oh, it also costs time. So time plus $20 for that second one.

But what’s the real solution to this very real problem?

Let’s take a look at how, exactly, your NES is able to entice the game to emerge from the cart. You might think there are ghosts inside, and the NES is a conduit for their spirits. It is simply impossible for me to prove there aren’t ghosts inside every video game cartridge, so to be safe, just assume your game collection is very haunted. However, there is science behind how your cartridge gets its code inside your game, although I guess technically it’s engineering, which is basically applied science. But I’m neither a scientist, nor an engineer, and as previously discussed I know very little about the spirit realm, but I’m going to do my best to explain the very simple theory behind how your game goes from your cart, to inside your NES, and then up on your screen.

In electrical work, the kind that concerns itself with outlets and wiring and the like, the most important requirement is that all connections be two things: electrically and mechanically sound. In other words, you could hypothetically just lay two bare wires across one another and have them conduct electricity, but a slight breeze or mouse whisper could separate them, breaking the circuit. In modern wiring, wires are twisted together snugly and then a wirenut is twisted over the top. This makes the wires play nicely together… forever. Electrically and mechanically sound.

With your NES cart, or pretty much any video game cartridge, the requirement isn’t there for a permanent, powerful connection. In fact that’s kind of the point. But you also don’t want your cartridges to just flop around inside the machine, so a balance has to be struck. The springiness of the NES’ 72-pin connector is such that you can slide in your cartridge without too much effort and have the pins give it just a nice little squeeze, a little electronic hug. The metal contacts of the connector and the contacts of the cartridge then create a beautiful pairing that allows the free movement of electrons from one to the other. It’s electrically sound and mechanically sound-enough.

But therein lies the problem. You see, the need to rely on that “springiness” to make a good connection to the cartridge contacts means given enough use, it wears out JUST enough to make it a real hassle. The 72-pin connector needs to make full contact with the cartridge’s contacts in order to work. The rituals we used to do as kids, like blowing on the cartridge, worked sometimes because the fail-state of the 72-pin connector wasn’t total. You might put the cart back in, all gross with spit, at a slightly different angle and that angle is enough to make contact.

“Why not just make the 72-pin connector grip harder, then?” That’s a good question. Without knowing for sure, I would imagine the designers of the original NES hardware probably didn’t expect man-children like me to use their products 30 years later, but it doesn’t take 30 years for the problems to start to arise. If the 72-pin connector’s grip were more forceful, the trade-off would be… well, ask anyone who had a first-generation Hyperkin Retron5 how terrifying it was to try to remove a cart from its vice-like grips. On top of that, every time you insert and eject a cartridge, you’re kind of ruining it. I mean, at basically a microscopic scale, sure, but it’s a destructive process nonetheless. That metal-on-metal contact, coupled with pulling the cart in and out, removes just the littlest bit of metal from the contacts and the connector. Just the smallest amount, you won’t even notice, probably in a lifetime. But if the connector had more force, the metal-on-metal scraping would be worse and perhaps even visible on the contacts after just a few use cycles. Again, looking at you, first gen Retron5.

That metal-on-metal contact, coupled with pulling the cart in and out, removes just the littlest bit of metal from the contacts and the connector.

So, to sum it up: the NES, and pretty much every other cartridge-based system, relies on an electrically sound contact between pieces of metal, which in the case of the NES is done through the 72-pin connector. That connector’s ability to grip weakens over time, which leads to bad connections between the NES and the game cartridge, which leads to that annoying blinking red light and things like a flashing screen or random characters on the screen instead of sprites.

I should quickly point out, there are plenty of other things that can cause NES failure. Corroded contacts on the game or the 72-pin connector, issues with the kind-of annoying spring-loaded mechanism inside the NES not lining up correctly, corrosion on the board of the NES or the game. There are lots of reasons why your system might not work, but the biggest culprit of all is that 72-pin connector. Thankfully, it’s really easy to fix. In fact, I’ve already made a video to show you how, as well as show you a little trick to get a little extra use out of an old connector that involves a pot of boiling water and some patience. It’s at the top of this column! And it’s a delight.

Beyond blowing on carts, did you have any NES rituals you would undertake to try and get them to work? Let me know in the comments.

Seth Macy is Executive Editor, IGN Commerce, and just wants to be your friend. You can find him hosting the Nintendo Voice Chat podcast.

Lance Reddick Has ‘Performances Yet to Come’ in Destiny 2

The Destiny 2 community has been mourning the passing of Lance Reddick, remembering him through tributes like flocking en masse to The Tower. And, according to Bungie, Reddick will continue to live on in more voicework for the game.

Reddick, who’s also known for his work in The Wire, Fringe, and the John Wick series (including this weekend’s John Wick: Chapter 4), voiced Commander Zavala in Destiny 2. Bungie followed up on its initial statement about Reddick’s passing in a blog post yesterday.

“The tributes that have poured in for Lance have been overwhelming; from endless heartfelt messages on social media to impromptu gatherings of respect in Zavala’s corner of the Tower, overlooking the Last City,” the blog read, in part. “As an actor, musician, gamer, and family man, the passion Lance brought to the things he loved was reflected in the eyes and hearts of all who loved him. For now, we will honor his presence through his performances yet to come in the game, and in the memories that will last us a lifetime.”

Reddick, who died on March 17 at the age of 60, appeared in other games as well, voicing Sylens in Horizon Zero Dawn. And, as Bungie noted, he was an avid gamer himself, and was an active voice in the Destiny community (read our tribute to Reddick’s impact on the gaming community here).

In its initial statement, Bungie called Reddick “an iconic presence on screen, in Destiny, and most importantly, in person.”

“His love for our community shined through in Commander Zavala, in his uncompromising dedication to his craft, and out of the radiating kindess that touched those around him,” it went on. “To say he will be missed is a profound understatement, yet no less true.”

Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.