Pokemon Sapphire factory misprint? *UPDATED*

[bowser | 600]

UPDATE: Not a misprint. Thanks Hybrid!

Original post:

I got this Pokemon Sapphire recently and strangely enough the label is on the back. At first I thought someone must have peeled it off the front but taking a closer look I don't find any evidence to support that. No gouge marks/scrapes on the front plastic at the corners or along the edges where someone might have tried to lift the label. And there are vertical scratches on the front from the cartridge sliding in and out of the Gameboy suggesting there was never a label there.

Furthermore, the label seems to be very firmly applied on the back and you can see the Nintendo logo and the lines of the plastic under the sticker. It also looks like someone tried to peel off the sticker to move it to the front judging by the various gouges and damage to it.

What do you guys think? Ever seen anything like this? Could this actually be a factory misprint?

Edited April 18, 2021 by bowser

[tidaldreams | 654]

I've always wondered why so many of these are missing labels. How badly do you have to treat a game for the entire label to come off?

[croagunk | 798]

Very interesting. It does seem put on by a machine. I don’t think hands could put the sticker on that tight. It doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility that it’s a legit error.

Edited April 18, 2021 by croagunk

[Hybrid | 447]

I'm going with this not being an error and here's why the label shows plenty of damage, including in a circle where it would be if it were on the front, now on to the front  the flat label area shows scratches around the center circle 

[Hybrid | 447]

11 hours ago, croagunk said:

Very interesting. It does seem put on by a machine. I don’t think hands could put the sticker on that tight. It doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility that it’s a legit error.

A wet label could get in easier which this label shows plenty of evidence of being at one time

[croagunk | 798]

2 hours ago, Hybrid said:

A wet label could get in easier which this label shows plenty of evidence of being at one time

Never thought of that. That seems very possible. The only question is why would someone do this? Lol

[Hybrid | 447]

3 hours ago, croagunk said:

Never thought of that. That seems very possible. The only question is why would someone do this? Lol

To quote an old beer commercial "why ask why?"

I am only saying what I see as a seasoned error hunter

 

[bowser | 600]

11 hours ago, Hybrid said:

I'm going with this not being an error and here's why the label shows plenty of damage, including in a circle where it would be if it were on the front, now on to the front  the flat label area shows scratches around the center circle 

Great call on that circle I didn't think of that! I guess that's the "decisive evidence" this isn't a misprint and the label was moved at some point lol. Thanks for your valuable input!

[GPX | 1,403]

I find this error to be intriguing regardless of factory error or gamer error.