BGR says the surprise awaits smart-speaker owners who remember a particular cheat code from the 1980s.
BGR teases a fun surprise on Alexa or Google Home smart speakers for anyone who remembers a certain cheat code from the 1980s.
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The surprise is the Konami Code, a sequence that escaped old game controllers and became a recurring joke across technology. BGR reports that Google Home and Amazon Alexa devices can respond when a user speaks the code aloud.
Start with the device's usual wake phrase, either “Hey, Google” or “Alexa.” Then say the sequence: “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start.”
According to BGR, Google Home responds by announcing that “cheat mode” has been unlocked, followed by a drumroll and celebratory sounds. Alexa activates “Super Alexa” and delivers one of several game-inspired joke responses, including references to power-ups or a startup process that ultimately aborts.
Neither response changes the device's settings or adds capabilities. They are voice-assistant Easter eggs, included for people who recognize the sequence. BGR says the exact result varies by device.
The sequence is closely associated with Contra, but it did not originate there. TechCrunch's account of the code's history says Konami programmer Kazuhisa Hashimoto created it while porting the arcade game to the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Hashimoto needed a shortcut that would make repeated testing easier without being entered accidentally during normal play. The command awarded useful in-game upgrades, but the team forgot to remove it before the home version shipped.
Konami later reused the sequence in other games. Its appearance in the notoriously difficult NES version of Contra, where it granted 30 lives, helped turn the command into a piece of gaming folklore. Over time it became less of a practical cheat and more of a cultural reference, appearing in games by other publishers, television, movies and unrelated devices.
The smart-speaker versions follow that later tradition. Reciting the code does not make Alexa or Google Home more powerful; it simply prompts the assistants to acknowledge a joke with roots in 1980s gaming.
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