Older games had stuff like passwords or the konami code, but i dont see how those button combos could be figured out by one player. Im guessing some official strategy guides had them but if the game didnt have one or didnt include them, did they just spread word-of-mouth from that kids uncle who actually does work at nintendo?
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They were often printed in magazines like Nintendo Power or other game magazines and as you stated strategy guides would have them. I know I always found out from friends.
Often leaked by developers but eventually considered semi-official parts of the game and released by the companies to game magazines and reviewers, etc. some people also broke into game code and found them that way.
It was usually done by people reverse engineering the game executable. File sizes were small and no attempt was usually made by the developers to obfuscate the cheat codes. People with know how found them easily and then the information spread through printed magazines and BBSes.
The Computer magazines wrote about them. The kids would work hard for those $8 magazines. When that paycheck of 2 cents finally arrived to complete the buy, they rushed down to the store and bought the magazines. The naughtier ones just read the magazines while the clerk looked away.
Yeah, magazines and then within friend groups. Luckily, with the way the internet matured, you don’t need either of them anymore!
In the 90s I used to go to gamesages dot com, later renamed IGN sages or something but it would give you all the cheats.
Apart from the other answers (all mostly valid), there were pay-for “helplines” for the games made by the game producers. You would phone up a premium line and tell them where you were stuck and they had the developers notes on where to go, what to do, etc. and they would also have sympathy if you were really stuck or not very good, and tell you the cheat codes.
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Magazines, word-of-mouth, and there were phonelines you could call for cheats and walk-throughs etc.
Its was a try and fail and trading with each other.
I remember, in 1995, for Mortal Kombat 2 (SNES) I traded 8 Playboys for 80 (if I remember correctly) finishing moves, there was no manual, no internet or any other source from which to get them.
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