Ever Left A Console On Overnight For Time Release/Other Game Data?

[The 1 2 P]

I think the first time I ever did this was back during DOA for the extra menu options that helped make the game easier to unlock all the characters and costumes. Then it continued to other generations of consoles.

32 Bit Era
Dead or Alive(PS)--for extra menu options

128 Bit Era
Marvel Vs Capcom 2(Xbox+PS2)--for points in training mode to unlock extra characters

Current Gen
Bullet Witch(360)--for the 15 total hours of playtime achievement.

What about you guys?

EDIT: I changed the title to make it alittle clearer. So it's basically if you have ever left your console on over night for time release stuff, leveling up, refusing to have to start at the beginning of a game(with no save or password features) once you're put serious time into it or anything else you might have left your console running for.

[Ed Oscuro]

this topic changed my life.

p.s. I'm not going to count Windaz Update, besides, why leave your bocks on for hacxers to play with when you're not around?!

[hoaryhag]

Not for data, but I have left my consoles on pause for a day or even days so I didn't have to start over in the game. Did that with my nintendo all the time and it still works great and I got it the first Christmas they came out.

[Sothy]

No but I have been hella smashed and turned off the tv then went to bed withe the 360 spinning.

[PSony]

I did it on Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero (PS2) to unlock the last level of upgrades. I also did it in Marvel vs Capcom 2 to get more points for character unlocks, but can't remember which version it was.

[klausien]

I did it with the GC versions of both Sonic Collections to unlock the bonus games. I have the JP versions, so this meant the Bare Knuckle trilogy.

The first time I did it was when I finished Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts on the SNES. SNES was on for a week with no problems.

[gepeto]

I did for the genesis because revenge of shinobi had no save. The only others I left accidently. Most recent the ps3 due to hitting the ps button by accident.

[Icarus Moonsight]

lawlz @ 128 Butt Era... Show me a 128 bit CPU, I dare you. :bareass: Opps, found one! :p If I can have 128 Kylie Minogue clones then sure! Why not? :D

Don't stare at an emoticons balloon knot... You'll go blind.

To answer the question, no, never.

[skaar]

Simcity for SNES I used to play over a summer. I'd start the city when school went out, did a bunch of stuff while I had money, then let it sit for a day or two. I'd come back, there would have been some fires or whatever, but the city was usually OK - tweak it a bit for a few hours, leave it on for a weekend...

[Howie6925]

I used to do this with sim city on the snes just to advance the year I would comeback to it and the city would be in total chaos. oops read the title wrong... I guess that would be a no. :P

[carlcarlson]

I left my Morrowind on overnight with the sneak button held down. When I woke up I had maxed out my sneak skill. I ended up reloading my old save, though, because I decided that wasn't very fun.

I also left Braid on for an hour or so to let that freaking cloud move across the screen.

Those are the only times I've left my systems on that I can remember. It seems like a waste to me.

[c0ldb33r]

Oh shit, I answered no, but after reading some posts, I remembered that I did. But not a console, but rather a PC game.

Sim Tower - I used to make sure I had plenty of security guards and cleaning staff, make sure my elevators were properly configured, set it to fast mode and let it run for days on end. That's a great way to build up cash.

[ryborg]

Was there an unlockable thing on Super Smash Bros Melee that required (or was made easier) by leaving the system on for a while? That's the only example I can think of that doesn't involve keeping it on because the game had no saves.

[josekortez]

Was there an unlockable thing on Super Smash Bros Melee that required (or was made easier) by leaving the system on for a while? That's the only example I can think of that doesn't involve keeping it on because the game had no saves.

Yeah, I did that one. I think it was to unlock Mr. Game & Watch.

[deltoidsteep]

Yeah, I did that one. I think it was to unlock Mr. Game & Watch.

i did that one too, but i thought it was to unlock mewtwo? could be wrong

[jb143]

Would this belong in Modern Gaming? Because I don't understand much of the OP's post :-p

The only time I remember leaving a system on a really long time without playing it was for Robin Hood for the NES. I had gotten really far when we had to go somewhere and I wasn't about to have to start it over again.

[DDCecil]

I left FF3/6 on all night with a turbo controller on the Lete River, when I woke up, everyone's levels were in their 70's.

I also left Smash Bros Melee on all night to unlock a character.

[c0ldb33r]

I left FF3/6 on all night with a turbo controller on the Lete River, when I woke up, everyone's levels were in their 70's.
How would that work? How did you heal?

[kupomogli]

It's only possible when you have Banon at the beginning of the game. You set the controller to use the same commands previously used. Edgar uses Autocrossbow, Banon uses Health, and everyone else attacks. You really don't need to do anything but either tape the button down on your controller or set something on it(or a turbo controller.)

I don't do it solely because the game is easy enough as it is.

[Haoie]

So how come computers can be left on for months and years and consoles can't?

I have an inkling of why, but hey. I'll ask anyway.

[SPAZ-12]

Yeah, I did this in SSB to unlock MewTwo. You need a certain amount of brawl time, I think 24 hours, to unlock him. So I set a 4 player match, all computers, and left it on whenever I wasn't playing. And yet it still somehow took three days to unlock him (stupid brothers)!

[jperryss]

So how come computers can be left on for months and years and consoles can't?

I have an inkling of why, but hey. I'll ask anyway.

As far as the older cartridge-based systems, I don't think it's an issue leaving them on for days at a time (or weeks?). The system will get warm, yes, but it won't just keep getting hotter until it bursts into flames, heh.

Don't think I'd do it with a disc-based system though.

[Nirvana]

I left FF3/6 on all night with a turbo controller on the Lete River, when I woke up, everyone's levels were in their 70's.


This is exactly what I thought when I came into this topic. I didn't use this method, though, because when I learned about it I was really little and my brother didn't like the idea of keeping the game on.

[Cobra Commander]

Simcity for SNES I used to play over a summer. I'd start the city when school went out, did a bunch of stuff while I had money, then let it sit for a day or two. I'd come back, there would have been some fires or whatever, but the city was usually OK - tweak it a bit for a few hours, leave it on for a weekend...
That is EXACTLY what used to do also!
Once, I came back and almost had a megalopolis. Another time I returned to find my metropolis had been turned into a New Mexico nuclear test site. the only thing left were the occasional tree and some scattered bits of railways.
It was tragic indeed.

[makaar]

Two games come to mind:

Dragon Ball GT Final Bout (PS1): We would tape down the controller in Build Up mode and have a character fight in a loop over night against a much higher level opponent. The next day the match would be over and our character would be ridiculously high..the highest I ever had was a lvl. 141 Majin Boo that had extremely powerful kicks and special moves, but my brother topped me with a lvl. 180 Vegetto that could one-hit kill even my 141 Boo with a single kick. The health bars would drain even after the match was over...

Deer Hunter II (PC): Everyone had heard about the Bigfoot mystery in the game (mysterious sounds and footprints appearing randomly). Once again my brother was on the case, and I told him never to turn off the computer until we found him...we took shifts and after two days of random checking (not 48 hours constant) we discovered that the footprints are created by something invisible and the tracks just appear along a path consistently every so often. What a disappointment that was!

[Mnemonic]

I'll post off-topic just like everyone else...

I once left Jurassic Park (SNES) on for a few days. Not like I had a choice though... who the heck makes a double-digit-hours-long game without including either a save feature or a password option, I ask you?

Still... I had to use that mouse for something other than mario paint!

[The 1 2 P]

I'll post off-topic just like everyone else...


You aren't off topic. I think my wording has confused some people. While I originally meant time-release data, leaving your console on over night because the games have no save or password feature is just as relevant. I would have done that too back in the day(Nes era) but I don't think my parents would have liked that. I'm going to go alter the title.

[TurboGenesis]

I have and I still leave stuff like my NES, SNES, Genesis, SMS, even Turbo Duo on for days at a time. I have been doing this for well over 15 years and with the exact same consoles. Only my Turbo Duo has recently given my issue with sound problems…

With more current console, I seldom leave them on for extended periods. I have left the PS2 on over night a few times but my new consoles are only on when in use while my old console are almost always on!

[Haoie]

Guess the higher the technology, the easier it is for it to break, huh?

[Zereox]

I played 6 Hours of Grandia II and was going to buy a VMU the next morning.

[kupomogli]

I used to leave my systems on. But not to accomplish anything. I'd end up turning the system on to play it, but then stay on the internet for a few hours, and then end up turning it off because I haven't been using it.

The most recent was the PS3 and you know some bullshit? The PS3 didn't go out and neither did the tv, but I think since the tv was on the entire time and it was just a single picture for atleast an hour, the tv ended up getting all its colors washed out.

Now everything is much lighter even with brightness turned to the least setting. It's still usable, but it's like a layer of grey covered the entire screen and every color that is viewable is very light and looks faded.

I guess my tv pretty much going out atleast gives me an excuse to buy an HDTV. I was looking up various retailer prices at work and once I got home today.

[Richter Belmount]

Terranigma (pal format) for the snes , the reason why was cause I had a action replay 2 that wouldn't allow me to save my progress. However I managed to get a adaptor that would allow me to.

[Blitzwing256]

I remeber doing it for dungeon exploer2 for sega cd (awesome game btw, much better then 1) I found a nice safe spot to stand while murdering badguys, the game lets you level up very veyr slowly towards the end of the game, so I just left it there overnight...


woke up in the morning to no music and the cd automaticly ejected, my segacd never worked again.

last time I ever did it with a cd based system.

[otaku]

of course or because I had no memory card or way of saving.

[Berserker]

I've never left anything on overnight for exploiting/unlocking anything, but I do remember the first time I intentionally left a game on overnight because I didn't want to lose my place.

It was the first time I'd made it to World 7 in SMB3. I was in something like first grade. I don't think I knew about the warp whistles yet, as I don't think I would've left it on otherwise because even being so young I distinctly remember thinking that it probably wasn't good for the machine.

[kainemaxwell]

I once left Jurassic Park (SNES) on for a few days. Not like I had a choice though... who the heck makes a double-digit-hours-long game without including either a save feature or a password option, I ask you?
I did the same thing. Same with Orge Battle for the SNES when I needed a break during campaigns.

[PapaStu]

I've left systems running for time based stuff for WarTech and for Beautiful Katamari. I used to leave NES games on overnight with friends when we'd rented them from Blockbuster and we were trying to beat them (Rygar i'm thinking of you).

After legitimately earning 50 hours of actual playtime and having done everything (save for finding a few items) I knew there wasn't another 50 hours of play in me for Katamari. So I set it on eternal, plugged in a controller and let it play overnight for a few hours a night until the achievement popped.

[Rickstilwell1]

I did this on Sonic Mega Collection Plus for PS2 because you can unlock all the other games and cheat descriptions by leaving a game running for 2 hours each. I just did that when I was sleeping and if I woke up in the middle of the night I swicthed which game it was on.

I was in high school back then. I even left it running when I was at school once. I wanted those extras unlocked!

[Game Freak]

Yup. I did it for numerous games, actually >_>

8 bit era:
Ghosts n Goblins, to continue my game...at level 2 >_> then there was a power outage...

16 bit era:
SimCity - often left on while out for cash, although also left on because the save battery is unreliable.
Kirby Super Star - battery unreliability

128 bit era:
Harvest Moon - to pass Spring and Summer or whatever more quickly so that I can reap the rewards of having a humongous tree crop i can then put inside the seed maker and make TONS of cash (~700,000G/yr)
Super Smash Bros. Melee - to get Mewtwo, after my initial save data had been erased i just lost the patience

PC:
SimCity 4 - fast cash
SimTower - fast cash

[WelcomeToTheNextLevel]

I left my brand-new PS2 on for 6 days in straight in June 2002 so I wouldn't lose my Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec data. We got the PS2 and GT3 on the same day but didn't get a memory card. Once we got a memory card I saved my game and gave my PS2 a rest. I had heard somewhere back then that you could leave a PS2 on for a week or so before it damaged it. I think the Gamecube and Xbox couldn't be left on as long. I have no idea where I heard that, it's probably BS. I don't miss memory cards. I like on-console storage (like a hard drive) better. On-cartridge memory is pretty awesome as well.

[XYXZYZ]

I never did, my dad really drilled it into me to turn off anything that consumes electricity if you're not using it. I couldn't leave my game consoles on like that because of anxiety that I was wearing them out, or just wasting power.

[Tanooki]

I never did, my dad really drilled it into me to turn off anything that consumes electricity if you're not using it. I couldn't leave my game consoles on like that because of anxiety that I was wearing them out, or just wasting power.

Pretty much this, just exchange out to nagging mother and turning it off. That and I took the Nintendo threats seriously with the NES saying not to leave it on more than 2-3 hours as heat could mess it up in the manual. I used it, turned it off, kept the habit going with everything since.

[docrown]

YES!
Altough my parent will scold me for a day, but it worth it. If I recall, the game I played in that day is Contra and Sonic :p

[JSoup]

A few. Smash Bros. Melee to unlock Mewtwo, various games in the modern era for achievements.

[Th3 hoff]

Left my xbox 360 on a couple of times for some achievement but that's it.

[The 1 2 P]

various games in the modern era for achievements.

That pretty much sums up why I did this a few times last gen on the 360 but I don't think I'd do this anymore. Consoles these days run a little too hot so I'd just try to find another way.

[wayultratech]

Left my PS2 Slim on for 3 days for Star Ocean 3 TTEOT, for getting to the top of Sphere 211, which is a bonus dungeon but if you're trying to see the real endgame bosses you gotta do it, and it takes SO LONG!!!! After completing the Maze of Trib you can go back and teleport to floor 101, but the you must travel to each floor sequentially til you get to the top floor (211) which takes FOREVER as you encounter annoying enemies while you're just trying to get to the next floor as quickly as you can. (Been awhile since I've played this so I humbly throw myself at the mercy of anyone who's played it more recently and says it ain't no thing)

I seem to remember leaving SNES Tiny Toons Buster Busts Loose on for multiple days. There is a password system on Easy mode, but for Normal and Hard modes there is no password provided. I recall trying to beat it many times on Normal mode as a kid, and probably left the SNES on overnight a few times..it's not difficult if i remember the gameplay (typical sidescroller with Konami-during-SNES-days shine)

I remember doing something for a long time to unlock Ristar in NGC Sonic Mega Collection, although it may have been repetitive menu jockey-ing to give me more plays for each game.

Jus in the last week or so I left my in-progress Skyrim PS3 game going overnight with a rubber band on the stick so I could acquire maximum sneak. MAXIMUM SNEAK!!!!

[MeTmKnice]

Did this back in the NES/SNES/Genesis days for some games that didn't have a save option.

[Nophix]

One of our PS3 consoles is pretty much on all the time. It's basically the cable box for our living room, and the kids have something against turning things off. It's been like that for years.

Otherwise, my X One is basically left in "sleep mode" or whatever they call it in the setup menu, so it stays updated.

[goldenband]

There's a place early in Castle of Illusion where you can let Mickey swing on a vine and he'll automatically kill a respawning enemy without any risk. It's an easy way to rack up points and reach the maximum number of extra lives, and I let the game run unattended for a while before I tackled the rest on Hard.

[Xexyz]

I actually feel a little embarrassed admitting this but two Sundays ago I was playing Ninja Crusaders on my NES, got board and shut off the TV. Apparently I forgot to shut the NES off though, and came to this realization last Saturday when I turned the TV on to do some gaming. I didn't even look at the red LED, just noticed the stage theme going on as soon as the TV fired up.