In these cases, the user has two options: attempt to locate a pointer to the data block that their code is attempting to modify or change the game's programming which is usually located at the same place every time. In some games, the resulting code may only work in one level or it may cause problems in other parts of the game due to memory locations being dynamically assigned. Once the list is reasonably small the user must determine which of the found locations is the correct one by modifying them one at a time and seeing what effect it has on the game.

By performing multiple searches the list of matching locations is gradually reduced.

After the first search, subsequent searches only look at memory locations that match the specified criteria from the last search. Finding code is done by searching memory locations either for specific values or for values that have changed in a certain way (increased, decreased, not changed, etc.) since the last search. During gameplay, the user presses a button on the device to open a code search menu. The GameShark Pro series contained a feature that allowed players to find their own codes. Also included was the option to use an Enhancement CD in order to upgrade the GameShark and add new codes found on the disc. The PlayStation GameShark had the following standard features: View Video Image, which allowed users to see the last image stored in the PlayStation's Video RAM, View CD Image, which allowed a user to search the game CD for image files, Play Music, which would play the CD audio, and View CD Movie, a function that allowed a user to view FMV (full motion video) files found on the disc. Only a few examples of these Upgrade CDs were known to have been published. The Enhancement Disc, which InterAct sold for $4.95, allowed users to upgrade the GameShark and add codes to the code list from the disc. The later models of the GameShark also had a Use Enhancement Disc option. Models for the PlayStation had an Explorer option that allowed gamers to access most PlayStation disc files, and it was possible to view FMV files stored on the CD. It was a runner-up for Electronic Gaming Monthly 's Best Peripheral of 1996 (behind the Saturn analog controller). It was originally released for the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation consoles in January 1996. The cartridges also acted as memory cards, with equal or greater storage capacity to the consoles' first party memory cards. Codes could be entered, but unlike the Game Genie, codes were saved in the onboard flash memory and could be accessed later rather than having to be reentered. When the original GameShark was released, it came with 4,000 preloaded codes.

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