CIB contemporary bootleg vs loose fake

[fcgamer 4,049]

Which would you take?

I've recently obtained some bootlegs that look about 98% the same as legit pieces, though all comes undone when the carts are opened. Contemporaries of the released games. Although of course bid prefer an original (and would never try to deceive someone into thinking mine was real), I'd choose my contemporary CIB fake over a loose real any day.

What about you guys?

[MiamiSlice 2,924]

Got pictures of some examples? Personally I'd pass on both. I want authentic CIB's. 

[Gloves 10,348]

Pass on both. If it's not authentic I see no reason to own it at all, and would use an Everdrive instead.

[spacepup 2,092]

I’m also personally not really into repros or bootlegs.  Others seem to like them, but it just isn’t for me.  I’d prefer to have an original even if loose.

[O.G. CIB 390]

Neither

[RegularGuyGamer 1,821]

2 hours ago, Gloves said:

Pass on both. If it's not authentic I see no reason to own it at all, and would use an Everdrive instead.

 

2 hours ago, Mr. CIB said:

Neither

Mark me down for neither. I don't understand the appeal of knock off goods. 

[kuriatsu 65]

The only reason I'd get a repro is to play a game when the original is too valuable to fiddle with, and only when its already in my collection.

Lets take for instance the NWC 1990 cart. If you had that in your collection you wouldn't want to play it, so you'd get a repro for that purpose...IMO at least...

(then again....even the repro for that game is expensive most times...also I do not have an nwc, I just didn't want to risk bragging.)

I may also get one if it was very very very inexpensive and then if its not obvious I'd label it as a repro after extensive investigations.

Edited February 25, 2020 by kuriatsu

[drxandy 3,032]

I think old bootleg games have a place in history and are very interesting. Modern versions are dime a dozen.

I am more interested in modern repros of English translated ROMs, playing a game that wasn't released here but on original hardware. I know a flash cart could be the solution but I like seeing some artwork and changing carts. Ultimately I would love to be a hobbyist in flashing cards and making my own versions of English translations but with a mountain of other things on my plate it's easier to just snag some off AliExpress.

[TDIRunner 2,369]

Others have said it, but I agree that if the game is too expensive to buy or if you own it but it's too expensive to risk playing, just go with an Everdrive or similar type of flash cart.  I do own a few repro carts, but they were given to me and all but one are ROM hacks anyway.  

Reproduction boxes bother me less.  As long as it's clear as to what they are, I think they can sometimes make good placeholders.  Since I don't collect CIB for cart based games and I don't display my cart boxes, I don't own any repro boxes at all.  However for a few of my disc games, I have a few reproduction covers that I use as a temporary placeholder.  Howerver, it's always my goal to replace them with the real thing eventually.  

 

[phart010 1,628]

I don’t have an issue with reproductions. All legalities aside, my main issue is with counterfeiting. Counterfeiting is the act of deception when you try to pass something off as authentic when it is actually a fake. In my opinion reproductions should not be designed to look like originals so that there is no confusion. If you want to make reproductions, fine, but use different label art or change the color of the shell or something so it is obvious that it’s not original 

Edited February 25, 2020 by phart010

[CasualCart 6,089]

I personally take an ethical stance against reproduction/bootleg games, even contemporary bootlegs from the same time period as the originals.

I agree that they can be a neat piece of history, but I'd never condone or collect them.

-CasualCart

[Link 1,915]

I’d be interested in period bootlegs, specifically if they are obvious. Like black Bart Simpson t-shirts and stuff like that.

If it’s just a fake 1:1 then no not really.

[Tanooki 4,694]

On 2/25/2020 at 9:42 AM, fcgamer said:

Which would you take?

I've recently obtained some bootlegs that look about 98% the same as legit pieces, though all comes undone when the carts are opened. Contemporaries of the released games. Although of course bid prefer an original (and would never try to deceive someone into thinking mine was real), I'd choose my contemporary CIB fake over a loose real any day.

What about you guys?

I'd be pretty impressed, probably keep them depending on the situation.  If they look right, play right, seem right, there's really no harm if you enjoy playing the stuff.  I'd had some contemporary knockoffs before of nice quality, famiclone stuff, and it was fun to have and use, plus the fraction of the cost part was a bonus.

[umjammercammy 2]

I love bootlegs. The history of piracy and copyright-defiance in general really fascinates me, but I have a really specific taste when it comes to boots. For one thing, I'm not big on the 90s-era Dendy-esque "GRAND DAD MARIO" kinda games, and anything that was made post-2000 doesn't interest me at all (seeing Mario Sunshine art on a famiclone cart using the cheapest, flimsiest yellow plastic known to man gives me some sort of visceral reaction), but if it's old and odd, chances are I'm interested in it, especially if that means original artwork.

When it comes to almost 1:1 recreations of legit games I honestly don't mind it at all. I own a CIB bootleg of Shadow Dancer for the Mega Drive that looks almost 100% exact but is missing the Sega logo and some other text and symbols on the cover (oddly, the removal of these bits means you can see more of the artwork than on a legitimate copy, making me wonder if they just "filled in" the originally-obscured areas themselves or if they also possessed a clean copy of the cover artwork). I'd gladly own any number of retro games in a similar condition, even if they were counterfeit, just because it intrigues me. In the same breath tho I have zero interest in modern Chinese bootlegs. Legit or fake, it still has to be retro.

On that same note, I sometimes find the bootleg stuff cooler than the official, especially in the case of some famiclone carts, like the Whirlwind Manu version of Lupin III. Sure, it looks largely identical, but it's a counterfeit version of a game about a thief. Something about that is just inherently cooler.

[Tanooki 4,694]

So you'd be like interested in an 80s cart like stand alone or maybe a supervision multicart is more your speed.  I've got a 115in1 I'm letting go of.