The repros/bootlegs problem

[FireHazard51 | 2,043]

Is it become a bigger issue or less of an issue.  Have you recently been fooled into buying a repro online?

[dogbowl | 150]

My biggest concern is that I don't have confidence that the grading companies are able to fully spot repros...

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

Never once. But I also pass on too good to be true or people that dont describe the item enough. Pretty easy to tell nowadays

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

I haven't bought any, but it's also been a while since I've bought any games online. 

[Sumez | 2,953]

It's extremely frustrating that eBay does nothing to prevent the sales of these. It used to be the occasional rare game and that was already annoying, but now it's common with nearly every cart based game

[fcgamer | 4,723]

It's gotten worse in my side, with people making repros or bootlegs of bootlegs. There's stuff I've had to leave out of my books as it just couldn't even be confirmed to be "authentic", i.e. period and not fanmade.

[nrslam | 476]

I stopped buying online in part because ebay no longer makes any effort to police counterfeiting, so I just assume any game I see there is fake.

On the other hand, since I buy everything locally now, I don't worry about fakes at all. I've actually seen a few at yard sales, but even if I fall for them, I'm out a buck, not $hundreds.

[T-Pac | 7,548]

I've only recently started collecting PC Engine games, but I have no clue how to spot fakes (outside of obvious tells). Since the system is more niche and there isn't much online documentation about authenticating games, I've just been trying to stick with reputable sellers and looking for signs of genuine wear-and-tear on the HuCards.

So far, that's seems to be going well. And it helps that the cascade of reproduction cartridges hasn't reached far beyond the more popular NES, SNES, Genesis, GameBoy, etc.

[T-Pac]

[fcgamer | 4,723]

8 minutes ago, T-Pac said:

I've only recently started collecting PC Engine games, but I have no clue how to spot fakes (outside of obvious tells). Since the system is more niche and there isn't much online documentation about authenticating games, I've just been trying to stick with reputable sellers and looking for signs of genuine wear-and-tear on the HuCards.

So far, that's seems to be going well. And it helps that the cascade of reproduction cartridges hasn't reached far beyond the more popular NES, SNES, Genesis, GameBoy, etc.

[T-Pac]

I love me some wear and tear on games, it's definitely a marker of authenticity 

[T-Pac | 7,548]

Just now, fcgamer said:

I love me some wear and tear on games, it's definitely a marker of authenticity 

Same - unfortunately, it's not a viable measure of authenticity for people who collect mint stuff. 

Hats-off to all the condition-sensitive collectors out there. I admire your taste, but I don't envy the lengths required to satisfy it.

[T-Pac]

[Sumez | 2,953]

I honestly love it when you buy a used game and you can tell it's had a history! 

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

3 hours ago, T-Pac said:

I've only recently started collecting PC Engine games, but I have no clue how to spot fakes (outside of obvious tells). Since the system is more niche and there isn't much online documentation about authenticating games, I've just been trying to stick with reputable sellers and looking for signs of genuine wear-and-tear on the HuCards.

So far, that's seems to be going well. And it helps that the cascade of reproduction cartridges hasn't reached far beyond the more popular NES, SNES, Genesis, GameBoy, etc.

[T-Pac]

Hu cards are super difficult to fake. Its why hu  repros have the big old rom chips on them. 
 

in my 15+ years collecting ive only seen Super CD games faked. 

[Brickman | 3,986]

34 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

Hu cards are super difficult to fake. Its why hu  repros have the big old rom chips on them. 
 

in my 15+ years collecting ive only seen Super CD games faked. 

Agreed. Also the majority of the fakes are from that POS company PCE Works.

 @T-Pac if you’re buying a Super CD game first double check it hasn’t got a fake made by them. Then try and search Google for the differences. It doesn’t help that the majority of their fakes are SHMUPs. Always get photos of the inner ring CD number on Super CD games, that’s a good start.

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

1 minute ago, Brickman said:

Agreed. Also the majority of the fakes are from that POS company PCE Works.

 @T-Pac if you’re buying a Super CD game first double check it hasn’t got a fake made by them. Then try and search Google for the differences. It doesn’t help that the majority of their fakes are SHMUPs. Always get photos of the inner ring CD number on Super CD games, that’s a good start.

The most widely faked are rondo, sapphire, cotton but there are plenty more

[Tanooki | 4,934]

Can't vote, don't consider them a problem.

I consider them a viable solution, and the fact that they look so right, and play as they should is a plus, not a negative.  Market has matured enough to qualify this level of workmanship which is a good thing, just need to know what you're doing when you buy, just like with old coins, sports cards, and the rest.

[Ankos | 441]

I'll go with harder to identify and more plentiful in reference to NDS stuff. They're still something I can identify but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't harder

[Ankos | 441]

On 8/13/2023 at 4:05 PM, MrWunderful said:

Hu cards are super difficult to fake. Its why hu  repros have the big old rom chips on them. 
 

in my 15+ years collecting ive only seen Super CD games faked. 

Fun fact: a long time ago PCE clones used their own cartridge format instead of of Hu cards for that exact reason. I don't those are fooling anyone though

[fcgamer | 4,723]

Don't forget King though.

[LostLevel83 | 85]

Wider public acceptance is troubling.

A shop in a large shopping mall had vintage and repro carts right next to each other with a sign designating a discount for the repro version. 

[Tanooki | 4,934]

Well they're largely desirable to many these days because how accurate they now come off, and that's just the surface level, then you get into the translated games we missed, pet projects, etc. The quality bar finally hit coupled with a cheap price as those cost less and less due to the bulk shipping of them off ali etc.

Game exchange in the US now peddles 1:1 looking GBA boots you really have to eyeball more than a casual glance to see they're not right, outside of the obvious never released pokemon green GB and the wrong colored shell for crystal.  They sell the things largely for $20/ea, though oddly Aria of Sorrow is $30 which is weird.

The thing is the market is growing, people want these games, and either don't know about/want to pay up a lot for flash kits, or worse, original games.  So they're getting a good share of consumer desire, the niche within the niche of buying old games without getting clowned.

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,013]

The issue is the acceptance of 1:1 reproductions in place of th actual games. I don't have any problem with fan made, art project of games regardless of the values of their authentic counterparts.

But these days, there are a ton of people buying shit games with the intention of reading the label or cart to get it to look closer like an expensive original.

People buying fake boxes will never feel like they own a CIB copy of them game, idc what others say. Because eventually someone who's not them will see the fake box and be excited. "No way! You got the original dank game still in the box?!" And the response has to be well actually it's a cart only copy I got that was in a fire and bought a new shell and fake label for it and then put it in this fake box to rattle around. 

It's just like people who buy fake shoes and color correct them with paint and shit. Then people are impressed and they either own their a fraud with their silence or have to own up to them actually just appearing like they're acting like someone who cares about shoes.

Fake games and fake boxes only gives the appearance of being a game collector. The "they just Wana play the games man" argument is bullshit and nonsense. They want to appear to be collectors or gamers or w.e. 

[Murray | 2,448]

You rippin’ on my copy of Super Mario Land? 

[fcgamer | 4,723]

3 hours ago, RegularGuyGamer said:

The issue is the acceptance of 1:1 reproductions in place of th actual games. I don't have any problem with fan made, art project of games regardless of the values of their authentic counterparts.

But these days, there are a ton of people buying shit games with the intention of reading the label or cart to get it to look closer like an expensive original.

People buying fake boxes will never feel like they own a CIB copy of them game, idc what others say. Because eventually someone who's not them will see the fake box and be excited. "No way! You got the original dank game still in the box?!" And the response has to be well actually it's a cart only copy I got that was in a fire and bought a new shell and fake label for it and then put it in this fake box to rattle around. 

It's just like people who buy fake shoes and color correct them with paint and shit. Then people are impressed and they either own their a fraud with their silence or have to own up to them actually just appearing like they're acting like someone who cares about shoes.

Fake games and fake boxes only gives the appearance of being a game collector. The "they just Wana play the games man" argument is bullshit and nonsense. They want to appear to be collectors or gamers or w.e. 

I feel weird about the whole thing, personally, and think that it goes a lot deeper than just the bolded part above.

Now, I know what you may be thinking, and as a collector I hate fake reproductions or PCB swaps of unauthorized bootleg games, as I just collect stuff that is from the period, vintage, whatever. A fake Super Mario from Stendo or Assupo is different to a collector than a fake Super Mario from Aliexpress. Both aren't from Nintendo and both are bootlegs, but that is where the similarities end.

That being said, it reminds me of a discussion I had once regarding Columbus Circle Famiclones (when people were bitching about the Columbus Circle games theoretically not working properly on real Famicom machines), and the readily available amount of Famicoms in Japan. If I were to purchase a gift for someone, and I were a grandma or something, a Columbus Circle machine would be a better choice than a used Famicom, as it is brand spanking new, etc etc, just looks better. Similarly, a brand new "repro" game CIB Pokemon is going to be a much better gift for the average person than a ratty, shit-stained, dog-chewed loose real Pokemon, requiring a battery change. 

We get offended because we collect; however, a lot of people just want the experience of the game, the experience of getting a box and a manual to thumb through. For these people, a flash cart or emulation is not going to work to fulfill this desire, and let's be honest, aside from financial limitations, would anyone here actually want people to be purchasing brand new, sealed Pokemon games and then opening them just for the sake of play, forever lowering the number of sealed games population?

There are definitely some people who buy repros just for the sake of gaining street cred or whatever the eff people want these days, but I think the vast majority of people buying these things just have different priorities than us collectors on here, and  I think that is okay. Fakes suck for collectors and investors but for actual gamers, it sometimes is a good thing, especially if almost 1:1. 

That being said, I'm glad that I don't collect western games, and as someone who had been against all this repro crap and warned that this situation is what would happen when it was first starting up on NA, I can smugly sit back, shrug my shoulders, and simply state "Told you so" at the miserable state that collecting has become over there.

[Gloves | 11,779]

8 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

and let's be honest, aside from financial limitations, would anyone here actually want people to be purchasing brand new, sealed Pokemon games and then opening them just for the sake of play, forever lowering the number of sealed games population?

I've done this. 

[fcgamer | 4,723]

Just now, Gloves said:

I've done this. 

More power to you if you've done this, actually I have to (sealed Creatom, plus I've opened and played dozens of non-sealed but new old stock games here purchased straight from the store [games weren't generally sealed in Asia]). What I used to do was then play the games on the several hour train / bus ride back home, on my Game Boy Color.