Really? Hm...guess I don't remember that far back lol. Memory is getting foggy lately, and I'm only 25...
Very few people ever realized it to remember. I never personally met any player or employee who knew before I pointed it out. I myself was blissfully unaware until I tried to import Super Mario Advance 2 Super Mario World ahead of the USA release date. It had an SRAM battery inside despite this specific title using EEPROM for save progress. The shrink wrap was sharp and easy to cut yourself on. You could tell the image was a second-generation copy when I compared similar elements to my original import of F-Zero for Game Boy Advance (F-Zero Maximum Velocity when it launched here). The stamp on the cardboard insert was actually better defined than a real one (a bit too sharp). Some pages in the manual were upside down and showed a completely different game. The arch for removing the game pak was not quite as smooth. The label was slightly too small and, thus, alignment was not as good. Some don't even bother with a triwing screw, though most did after that was quickly used to determine fakes.
These days the only new fakes are typically valuable games like Pokemon, but the old fakes are still in circulation.
Fascinating. I guess I figured only the popular/high value games were faked as you said. Never thought people would fake other games, but I guess back in the day when all these games were new...they still fetched a bit of money...so it was worth faking them.
I actually still have a hard time spotting fakes...one of the reason why I ended up with so many of them. The only real way I can tell is looking at the label and feeling the games. If the game cart is made of cheaper/lighter plastic or has a sharp edge to it, then I figure it's a fake. But I've seen fakes that have smooth edges and feel pretty real. Which worries me...more so now that you've mentioned old fakes are still out there...so even if something looks old...it doesn't mean it's real...
I've actually wondered if I should start carrying around game bits and screwdrivers to open up the games and look at the boards...that might have saved me from buying the fake games originally...because after the fact I opened them up and took a look at them and they were obvious fakes.
I've definitely carried mine around for similar reasons. Unlike most of the 8-32/64bit era, the GBA had no copy protections other than the BIOS requiring the Nintendo logo in the ROM, which would not be a concern to anyone selling a counterfeit/pirate. The Genesis survived relatively unscathed because you could just unknowingly order one from eBay back then. The Atari actually had a problem with it: one of the carts I bought two weeks ago turned out to be a counterfeit (Spacemaster X-7 "Spider").
When every new release was $35 MSRP, every new release was worth counterfeiting.
A couple months ago a flea market vendor had Dragon Warrior IV. I didn't even suspect it was a counterfeit until I saw a few ROM hacks and obvious repros in his SNES section. "Yeah, a guy I know does those for me." That jerk was totally going to sell me a counterfeit DW IV without saying anything!
Fascinating. I guess I figured only the popular/high value games were faked as you said. Never thought people would fake other games, but I guess back in the day when all these games were new...they still fetched a bit of money...so it was worth faking them.
I actually still have a hard time spotting fakes...one of the reason why I ended up with so many of them. The only real way I can tell is looking at the label and feeling the games. If the game cart is made of cheaper/lighter plastic or has a sharp edge to it, then I figure it's a fake. But I've seen fakes that have smooth edges and feel pretty real. Which worries me...more so now that you've mentioned old fakes are still out there...so even if something looks old...it doesn't mean it's real...
I've actually wondered if I should start carrying around game bits and screwdrivers to open up the games and look at the boards...that might have saved me from buying the fake games originally...because after the fact I opened them up and took a look at them and they were obvious fakes.
I've definitely carried mine around for similar reasons. Unlike most of the 8-32/64bit era, the GBA had no copy protections other than the BIOS requiring the Nintendo logo in the ROM, which would not be a concern to anyone selling a counterfeit/pirate. The Genesis survived relatively unscathed because you could just unknowingly order one from eBay back then. The Atari actually had a problem with it: one of the carts I bought two weeks ago turned out to be a counterfeit (Spacemaster X-7 "Spider").
When every new release was $35 MSRP, every new release was worth counterfeiting.
A couple months ago a flea market vendor had Dragon Warrior IV. I didn't even suspect it was a counterfeit until I saw a few ROM hacks and obvious repros in his SNES section. "Yeah, a guy I know does those for me." That jerk was totally going to sell me a counterfeit DW IV without saying anything!
Well thankfully they aren't heavy tools so it won't weigh me down much if I do carry them. I think I'll stick with the screwdriver for the GBA games...those are the most common fakes I come across...
Expect nothing from flea market resellers...those are the assholes who go before everyone else even can get into the market and cherry picks the good stuff leaving everyone else with crap, paying pennys on the dollar for the games and turning around and selling them at their booths for FMV or higher. All flea markets have them.
Comments
Really? Hm...guess I don't remember that far back lol. Memory is getting foggy lately, and I'm only 25...
Very few people ever realized it to remember. I never personally met any player or employee who knew before I pointed it out. I myself was blissfully unaware until I tried to import Super Mario Advance 2 Super Mario World ahead of the USA release date. It had an SRAM battery inside despite this specific title using EEPROM for save progress. The shrink wrap was sharp and easy to cut yourself on. You could tell the image was a second-generation copy when I compared similar elements to my original import of F-Zero for Game Boy Advance (F-Zero Maximum Velocity when it launched here). The stamp on the cardboard insert was actually better defined than a real one (a bit too sharp). Some pages in the manual were upside down and showed a completely different game. The arch for removing the game pak was not quite as smooth. The label was slightly too small and, thus, alignment was not as good. Some don't even bother with a triwing screw, though most did after that was quickly used to determine fakes.
These days the only new fakes are typically valuable games like Pokemon, but the old fakes are still in circulation.
Fascinating. I guess I figured only the popular/high value games were faked as you said. Never thought people would fake other games, but I guess back in the day when all these games were new...they still fetched a bit of money...so it was worth faking them.
I actually still have a hard time spotting fakes...one of the reason why I ended up with so many of them. The only real way I can tell is looking at the label and feeling the games. If the game cart is made of cheaper/lighter plastic or has a sharp edge to it, then I figure it's a fake. But I've seen fakes that have smooth edges and feel pretty real. Which worries me...more so now that you've mentioned old fakes are still out there...so even if something looks old...it doesn't mean it's real...
I've actually wondered if I should start carrying around game bits and screwdrivers to open up the games and look at the boards...that might have saved me from buying the fake games originally...because after the fact I opened them up and took a look at them and they were obvious fakes.
I've definitely carried mine around for similar reasons. Unlike most of the 8-32/64bit era, the GBA had no copy protections other than the BIOS requiring the Nintendo logo in the ROM, which would not be a concern to anyone selling a counterfeit/pirate. The Genesis survived relatively unscathed because you could just unknowingly order one from eBay back then. The Atari actually had a problem with it: one of the carts I bought two weeks ago turned out to be a counterfeit (Spacemaster X-7 "Spider").
When every new release was $35 MSRP, every new release was worth counterfeiting.
A couple months ago a flea market vendor had Dragon Warrior IV. I didn't even suspect it was a counterfeit until I saw a few ROM hacks and obvious repros in his SNES section. "Yeah, a guy I know does those for me." That jerk was totally going to sell me a counterfeit DW IV without saying anything!
Originally posted by: CZroe
Originally posted by: Astor Reinhardt
Fascinating. I guess I figured only the popular/high value games were faked as you said. Never thought people would fake other games, but I guess back in the day when all these games were new...they still fetched a bit of money...so it was worth faking them.
I actually still have a hard time spotting fakes...one of the reason why I ended up with so many of them. The only real way I can tell is looking at the label and feeling the games. If the game cart is made of cheaper/lighter plastic or has a sharp edge to it, then I figure it's a fake. But I've seen fakes that have smooth edges and feel pretty real. Which worries me...more so now that you've mentioned old fakes are still out there...so even if something looks old...it doesn't mean it's real...
I've actually wondered if I should start carrying around game bits and screwdrivers to open up the games and look at the boards...that might have saved me from buying the fake games originally...because after the fact I opened them up and took a look at them and they were obvious fakes.
I've definitely carried mine around for similar reasons. Unlike most of the 8-32/64bit era, the GBA had no copy protections other than the BIOS requiring the Nintendo logo in the ROM, which would not be a concern to anyone selling a counterfeit/pirate. The Genesis survived relatively unscathed because you could just unknowingly order one from eBay back then. The Atari actually had a problem with it: one of the carts I bought two weeks ago turned out to be a counterfeit (Spacemaster X-7 "Spider").
When every new release was $35 MSRP, every new release was worth counterfeiting.
A couple months ago a flea market vendor had Dragon Warrior IV. I didn't even suspect it was a counterfeit until I saw a few ROM hacks and obvious repros in his SNES section. "Yeah, a guy I know does those for me." That jerk was totally going to sell me a counterfeit DW IV without saying anything!
Well thankfully they aren't heavy tools so it won't weigh me down much if I do carry them. I think I'll stick with the screwdriver for the GBA games...those are the most common fakes I come across...
Expect nothing from flea market resellers...those are the assholes who go before everyone else even can get into the market and cherry picks the good stuff leaving everyone else with crap, paying pennys on the dollar for the games and turning around and selling them at their booths for FMV or higher. All flea markets have them.