If we are eliminating hardware, even basic hardware like dumping tools*, then that does in turn eliminate a lot of potential candidates for this as much did spring from hardware support at some level with software options being rather later in the day.
Equally quite a lot of early stage hacks have no use for running ROMs or modified versions thereof, and as ability to run homebrew =/= quite workable emulators, high grade software that could be commercial (or indeed could be commercial but for lawyers) and polished ports then that in turn eliminates all but the technically inclined for which multiple stages, some manual edits/extractions with a hex editor and whatever else might scare people in your scenario is just a day ending with y. Equally most consoles were not exactly dynamic and highly secured devices which would force the end user to think -- there have been a few forensic level and lab level hacks (recall reading some stuff about people extracting keys from the xbox 360 after JTAG was patched and before RGH hit the scene, that would qualify). The trouble with those is they are not reliable and reliable is necessary for something to be packaged up to consumers where it is merely nice if it is more than 1 in 40 boots for said forensics or those furthering the hacks. On very rare occasions we might see someone that would have no benefit to doing said hacks, skills to do it alone being justifiably questioned, browse a big boy hacker forum/see a news post and blunder on through.
*some of the early DS stuff saw people have to build their own passme, and later passme2 which was even more annoying. That just about met the average forum goer where they might have had to get the gerber files, send them off (low run options in Chinese shops that ship to you were a thing by this point, though not by much), solder some fairly basic chips and then program them (possibly in a more complex way for the passme2). However the Chinese flash cart makers stepped up there, flashme was a thing, and it was not so very long after that we got the nopass and then DS slot/slot 1 and then R4 and it was off to the races.
Before various font hacks were discovered on the original xbox then there was an activation sequence (finger wizardry being a term I saw once) that amounted to going to a certain menu. Some disliked that but it was mostly still save exploits, hard drive unlock, TSOP and mod chip.
Some of the stuff people had to do to update existing hacked devices to other families of hacks vs going from stock is usually where any complexity and chance for annoyance happens as it is impossible to know what bizarre setup someone might have and account for it. Seen that for Wii, PSP, 360, 3ds and possibly PS3 in more recent times when people unearth various things that might have been put to bed not long after the C3 presentation (it was more or less end of generation at that point).
As far as guides themselves and reading them then it also varies between the target audiences. For my money there are three
1) For other hackers. Steps might be skipped, abilities might be assumed (copy paste/delete/blank with hex editor I can do as easily as I type this, even more so command line. Long experience over many years tells me that is a rather bigger ask for some people).
2) For technically capable people. Not necessarily 1) but still like to know what each step does and what options there might be.
3) For those that might be more used to entering cheat codes and thus be told a list of button presses that ignores everything on screen.
I detest encountering 3) when out in the wild, yet it is quite common. Even if I am writing for 1) I still tend to write 2) and go for 2) when in doubt.
