Why Game Passwords Got So Ridiculously Long

Early video games lacked built-in save mechanisms, so players were required to remember their progress manually. To aid this, developers introduced password systems that encoded game states. These passwords often consisted of long strings of letters and numbers.

As games grew more intricate, the passwords needed to capture increasing amounts of data, resulting in even longer sequences. Later, battery backups allowed progress to be stored directly on the cartridge, reducing reliance on passwords. However, battery solutions added cost and introduced fragility to the hardware.

The video outlines how the expanding complexity of games drove password length upward. It also notes that while battery-backed saves mitigated the issue, they brought their own drawbacks.

Watch the video to learn why classic game passwords became so long:

Comment highlights:

"One of the vestiges of retro games that WON'T be missed. Persistent storage for saving your progress is just better in every way." - @aquapendulum

"this was nice when renting games from blockbuster, as you didn't have to worry about getting the same exact cart" - @Quantris

"I learned to put little symbols underneath password characters such as an up or down arrow to indicate lower or upper case especially for letters like 'p'. Also using a symbol like '#' to indicate ..." - @davidklein8608