Limited Run Games

[DefaultGen | 5,401]

10 hours ago, PineappleLawnchair said:

I bet these repros will just destroy the SEGA CD's laser, but if the Star Wars repros are any indication, we'll never know.

If anyone ever plays them we'll find out for sure.

[a3quit4s | 4,097]

Where the hell is my jay and silent bob mall brawl

[Code Monkey | 2,006]

On 2/21/2020 at 7:06 AM, TDIRunner said:

They aren't repros.  They are licensed just like the Star Wars games.  

 

They aren't reproductions? How do they exist if they aren't being reproduced?

If they were once produced and are now being reproduced, they are a reproduction.

[kuriatsu | 65]

13 minutes ago, Code Monkey said:

They aren't reproductions? How do they exist if they aren't being reproduced?

If they were once produced and are now being reproduced, they are a reproduction.

 

I may be wrong, but I think what they mean is that the star wars limited print runs are reproductions but they're licensed.

"reproductions" AKA "repros" are unlicensed and are arguably no different from piracy.

The difference is that limited run games have legal permission to reprint these games, and as a result they are different from "repros"

As a result, they are not "reproductions" but they are "legal reprintings" or "legal reproductions" 

However, I'm a newb to limited run games, I've only had the shantae 2 printing.

Edited February 24, 2020 by kuriatsu

[MiamiSlice | 3,092]

13 minutes ago, kuriatsu said:

I may be wrong, but I think what they mean is that the star wars limited print runs are reproductions but they're licensed.

"reproductions" AKA "repros" are unlicensed and are arguably no different from piracy.

The difference is that limited run games have legal permission to reprint these games, and as a result they are different from "repros"

As a result, they are not "reproductions" but they are "legal reprintings" or "legal reproductions" 

However, I'm a newb to limited run games, I've only had the shantae 2 printing.

Is there a dictionary for this? 

I think the word you are looking for is "bootleg." A bootleg is an unofficial media, regardless of whether it is a reproduction or not. A reproduction can be official or unofficial. This is my understanding. Thus these are official reproductions. 

Maybe everyone else assumes "repro" is the same as "bootleg" but then I wonder why we even have different words at all. 

Edit: apparently I'm wrong. Repro was coined to refer to bootlegs. Down is up. Weakness is strength. 

Edited February 24, 2020 by MiamiSlice

[TDIRunner | 2,735]

16 minutes ago, Code Monkey said:

They aren't reproductions? How do they exist if they aren't being reproduced?

If they were once produced and are now being reproduced, they are a reproduction.

More often that not, when someone uses the term repro, they are referring to bootleg reproductions.  Therefore since the implication was that they were bootlegs, I was simply explaining that they were wrong.  If that wasn't their intention, they can certainly correct me.  Regardless of the post I was responding to, several people, both here and other forums have suggested that LRG is producing bootleg games, which is false.  

 

[MiamiSlice | 3,092]

Thing is, with systems like Super Nintendo, N64, etc, Nintendo was the only entity that could manufacture the actual cartridges. No one else was allowed to print them. If you made your own, you had to manufacture your own shells, PCB's, etc. and they would never be identical to the official ones. So it's an official, sanctioned printing, but it's not an official cart. It's made to the best standards that an unofficial cart can be, just like the 30th anniversary Mega Man X cart from iam8bit (also official, sanctioned by Capcom). 

So I think the reason people call them bootlegs is they are not official carts. Kind of like the licensed vs. unlicensed NES games debate. 

Edited February 24, 2020 by MiamiSlice

[Code Monkey | 2,006]

Reproduction has no reference to licensing. It simply means a game was once produced and is now reproduced, either lawfully or unlawfully.

[Code Monkey | 2,006]

Just now, MiamiSlice said:

Thing is, with systems like Super Nintendo, N64, etc, Nintendo was the only entity that could manufacture the actual cartridges. No one else was allowed to print them. If you made your own, you had to manufacture your own shells and they would never be identical to the official ones. So it's an official, sanctioned printing, but it's not an official cart. It's made to the best standards that an unofficial cart can be, just like the 30th anniversary Mega Man X cart from iam8bit (also official, sanctioned by Capcom). 

So I think the reason people call them bootlegs is they are not official carts. Kind of like the licensed vs. unlicensed NES games debate. 

Tengen was fully allowed to print their own games on their own cartridges. Nintendo took them to court about it and lost.

[TDIRunner | 2,735]

If you want to argue that they are not part of the official set, that's fine.  But you cannot argue that they are bootlegs, because they aren't bootlegs.  

[TDIRunner | 2,735]

1 minute ago, Code Monkey said:

Reproduction has no reference to licensing. It simply means a game was once produced and is now reproduced, either lawfully or unlawfully.

Again, as I've already explained, we weren't talking strictly about reproductions.  We were talking about bootlegs.  My wording earlier was poor, but my point was still valid.  

[MiamiSlice | 3,092]

1 minute ago, Code Monkey said:

Tengen was fully allowed to print their own games on their own cartridges. Nintendo took them to court about it and lost.

You just said it yourself. They printed their own cartridges. They did not manufacture cartridges to Nintendo's official specs. They fit, sure, they were allowed to be sold, yes, but they were not the same. 

[kuriatsu | 65]

16 minutes ago, MiamiSlice said:

Is there a dictionary for this? 

I think the word you are looking for is "bootleg." A bootleg is an unofficial media, regardless of whether it is a reproduction or not. A reproduction can be official or unofficial. This is my understanding. Thus these are official reproductions. 

Maybe everyone else assumes "repro" is the same as "bootleg" but then I wonder why we even have different words at all. 

considering that I don't know of a dictionary(feel free to correct me) that exists for these terms, I have to go based on hearsay for a long while, but I've never seen a situation where "repro" is not a bootleg or unauthorized reproduction.

Repro, to me has always meant a bootleg, whereas a reproduction is the same thing as repro. 

Theres also a "legal reproduction" a "legal reprinting" (often shortened to "reprinting") which are usually legitimate legally and the company doing the reprintings have the legal consent of the company that made the games originally, as well as "authorized reproduction"

An example is when Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne was reprinted in 2012(or thereabout) which took its rarity down from 120$ to 10$(ish)

Another example: is the star wars NES games, which limited run games reproduced legally.

I apologize for my ignorance of any official terminology.

Edited February 24, 2020 by kuriatsu

[Code Monkey | 2,006]

1 minute ago, kuriatsu said:

considering that I don't know of a dictionary(feel free to correct me) that exists for these terms, I have to go based on hearsay for a long while, but I've never seen a situation where "repro" is not a bootleg or unauthorized reproduction.

Repro, to me has always meant a bootleg, whereas a reproduction is the same thing as repro. 

Theres also a "legal reproduction" a "legal reprinting" (often shortened to "reprinting") which are usually legitimate legally and the company doing the reprintings have the legal consent of the company that made the games originally, as well as "authorized reproduction"

An example is when Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne was reprinted in 2012(or thereabout) which took its rarity down from 120$ to 10$(ish)

Another example: is the star wars NES games, which limited run games reproduced legally.

A word has a definition for hundreds of years and now all of a sudden it's different? I don't understand how anyone can think this is possible.

[MiamiSlice | 3,092]

4 minutes ago, kuriatsu said:

considering that I don't know of a dictionary(feel free to correct me) that exists for these terms, I have to go based on hearsay for a long while, but I've never seen a situation where "repro" is not a bootleg or unauthorized reproduction.

Repro, to me has always meant a bootleg, whereas a reproduction is the same thing as repro. 

Theres also a "legal reproduction" a "legal reprinting" (often shortened to "reprinting") which are usually legitimate legally and the company doing the reprintings have the legal consent of the company that made the games originally, as well as "authorized reproduction"

An example is when Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne was reprinted in 2012(or thereabout) which took its rarity down from 120$ to 10$(ish)

Another example: is the star wars NES games, which limited run games reproduced legally.

I apologize for my ignorance of any official terminology.

check my edit. you were right. the people who first started doing romhacks and translations decided to call them repros instead of bootlegs because it sounded better. Repros are bootlegs. It's nuts. 

[kuriatsu | 65]

1 minute ago, MiamiSlice said:

check my edit. you were right. the people who first started doing romhacks and translations decided to call them repros instead of bootlegs because it sounded better. Repros are bootlegs. It's nuts. 

I agree, its a bit weird...:(

Sorry for my not reading your edit, I hadn't known of it before you mentioned it.

My bad.

[TDIRunner | 2,735]

1 hour ago, Code Monkey said:

A word has a definition for hundreds of years and now all of a sudden it's different? I don't understand how anyone can think this is possible.

There is a lot of back and forth between different people here so this is getting confusing, but to my point earlier, when most people say "repro" they are usually referring to bootlegs, regardless of what the actual word means.  No one is changing definitions.  Besides, "repro" is a slang word anyway.  

[avatar! | 1,811]

1 hour ago, Code Monkey said:

A word has a definition for hundreds of years and now all of a sudden it's different? I don't understand how anyone can think this is possible.

Dude, this happens all the time

Have you ever heard someone say "Oh wow, that's totally sick!" 

Standard definition of sick: affected by physical or mental illness.

But in today's vernacular sick can mean "illness" or "awesome" - so yeah, words change and garner meaning, which as teachers will tell is part of a "living language".

[VegHead | 127]

I like to call them reprints or reissues because, as others have said, repro has bootleg connotations these days.  

[Code Monkey | 2,006]

So I'm pretty excited for Real Myst.

[VegHead | 127]

I agree, realMyst is a definite buy for me.  I just replayed the original Myst a couple summers ago, and it was a blast.  I've never played realMyst, although I think I have in my GOG library.  Still, love the idea of it on Switch.  It would be amazing if they released the rest of the series, too.

[PineappleLawnchair | 88]

Quote

The difference is that limited run games have legal permission to reprint these games, and as a result they are different from "repros"

The key difference is it's not licensed or authorized by Nintendo/SEGA, hence why the box art on these things are so deathly afraid of mentioning the words "Nintendo" "Game Boy" "SEGA CD" or "SEGA". Something similar would be Tengen's Pac-Man, a game licensed from Namco, but has both an official and bootleg release.

 

[phart010 | 1,707]

11 hours ago, MiamiSlice said:

Thing is, with systems like Super Nintendo, N64, etc, Nintendo was the only entity that could manufacture the actual cartridges. No one else was allowed to print them. If you made your own, you had to manufacture your own shells, PCB's, etc. and they would never be identical to the official ones. So it's an official, sanctioned printing, but it's not an official cart. It's made to the best standards that an unofficial cart can be, just like the 30th anniversary Mega Man X cart from iam8bit (also official, sanctioned by Capcom). 

So I think the reason people call them bootlegs is they are not official carts. Kind of like the licensed vs. unlicensed NES games debate. 

To throw a wrench into things, there were some NES games like Smash TV by Acclaim, which were official and licensed, yet Acclaim manufactured the cartridge due to special agreements with Nintendo  

[MiamiSlice | 3,092]

5 hours ago, phart010 said:

To throw a wrench into things, there were some NES games like Smash TV by Acclaim, which were official and licensed, yet Acclaim manufactured the cartridge due to special agreements with Nintendo  

Interesting! I take it they were given access to the design files to produce them to spec right? 

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

Unrelated to the on going conversation above, but something I think is important. It appears that the page on Mighty Rabbit Studios Forum (owned by LRG) that used to reveal the number produced for each game is no longer there and only gives an error. So it may not be possible to get that information anymore.