It does not seem to be mentioned anywhere that cheat codes are necessary for game designers to test the games. The people who write these games are far from the greatest players, and it's helpful to have some extra protection to get through to all the parts of the game.

Why aren't the cheat codes removed before the games are shipped? Well, certainly one reason is that it's occasionally fun to summon extra powers out of nowhere in order to destroy one's enemies.

As others have mentioned, the article (as well as my own points, above) are mostly stating the obvious.

Robert Swier
Toronto

The main reason cheat codes aren't removed is that the software has already been QA tested with the cheat codes in place. Pulling the codes means changes to the software, which must then be completely retested.

They also just don't have the time. Go visit a game company, and you'll notice many of them have cots in their office, because a lot of them work 60-80 hours a week. They are constantly under pressure to get it out the door cheaper and faster. They don't have time to develop the "mad skillz" for their own games. Which frankly I find sad, because I think there would be fewer bad games if they were given more time, and got to really play it themselves.

Not only do the programmers not have the time, but I think the casual gamer no longer has the time to play through a modern game without cheats. I'm in my late 20's, and though I enjoy video games, I don't have the time to devote to the long games they make nowadays. For example, I bought GTA: San Andreas last year, and I'm amazed at how long and involved it is. I still haven't passed it. It might take me the rest of my natural life to find all the hidden items and unlock all the goodies without using cheats.

The pressure that programmers are under seem unnecessary to me when I think of all the games that have been released with obvious, correctible flaws. When's somebody in the game industry going to wake up and realize that it's better to delay the release date of a game than release something full of flaws that will never sell well? I know I'd gladly wait for and spend my money on better games.