Author Topic: counterfeit gba games (Read 6610 times)

vudu · « **on:** March 20, 2004, 07:54:31 AM »

i think i may have purchased a counterfeit copy of ninja five-o on ebay.

first, a little back story: after reading so many good things about the game, i've been wanting to try it out for quite some time. since it's pretty near impossible to find a copy in the stores, ebay is the most logical choice. i've been watching auctions for a few months now, and it usually goes for around $30-$35, plus shipping. not bad, but i've come to expect great deals on ebay, so i didn't bid.

which brings you up to speed; this morning i saw the game going for $10 using buy it now, with an extra $5 for s&h. not bad at all. so i snagged it up. skip ahead a few hours. i just noticed the seller lives in hong kong. this makes me a touch nervous, seeing as they have a pretty good counterfeiting problem over there.

i checked the seller's feedback, and it's pretty damn near spotless, but i'm a bit uneasy regardless. if anyone cares to check out the auction, you can find it here.

i remember reading a thread on this board a long time ago (i can't find it now) about counterfeit gba games, the differences between the real deal and the fake, how to spot them, etc. does anyone happen to know anything about counterfeit gba games? has anyone had a similar problem? any ideas on what i should do?

kennyb27 · « **Reply #1 on:** March 20, 2004, 11:25:40 AM »

Here is the thread you mentioned. It sounds real similar to your experience, so read the responses too.

The original poster, ShadowRunner, posted this link which seems pretty helpful (but then again it doesn't have your game as an example).

KDR_11k · « **Reply #2 on:** March 20, 2004, 06:23:56 PM »

To determine whether yours is a fake, throw a coin:
Heads: fake
Tails: fake
Side: real

BTW, is Ninja Cop the same as Ninja Five-O? I've seen that game in a store and it looked like 5-0, description sounded similar, as well. Did they change the name for PAL regions, or what?

S-U-P-E-R · « **Reply #3 on:** March 20, 2004, 07:37:39 PM »

Maybe you're just jumping to conclusions because the seller just happens to live in a certain country

ruby_onix · « **Reply #4 on:** March 20, 2004, 08:15:25 PM »

... and because it had a $10 buy-it-now.

"For easy shipping, all box is new, unfolded, and not seal. ONLY Cartridge and Box will ship. Box could folded back easily once you received it"

LOL! Some assembly required. No instructions.

It's a bootleg. Without a doubt.

Don't worry about it too much. As long as you know that you weren't trying to bootleg. You just got somewhat taken. Just chalk it up to a learning experience.

vudu · « **Reply #5 on:** March 22, 2004, 02:05:50 PM »

a quick update for those of you at home following along...

i received an e-mail from the seller today. it reads as follows:

Quote
Thanks your prompt payment and game will send to you soon.
Thanks!

english is definitely not this guy's primary language. i fear for my game.

Bloodworth · « **Reply #6 on:** March 22, 2004, 05:27:55 PM »

yeah, report him to EBay if it turns out to be a real fake. I hate buying stuff only to have someone tell me years later that it's just a high-end Hong Kong bootleg. *cough*Ever Anime*cough*

vudu · « **Reply #7 on:** March 23, 2004, 02:32:53 AM »

Quote
is Ninja Cop the same as Ninja Five-O?

yeah; same game. i believe it's called ninja cop outside the usa.

joshnickerson · « **Reply #8 on:** March 23, 2004, 03:15:42 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Bloodworth
yeah, report him to EBay if it turns out to be a real fake. I hate buying stuff only to have someone tell me years later that it's just a high-end Hong Kong bootleg. *cough*Ever Anime*cough*

Ugh, Ever Anime. I've got some bootleg Pokemon and Zelda music CDs from them, though at the time I had no idea they were pirated copies. I also got them from an actual game dealer, which suprised me, though they did go out of business a year later...
Ah well, I got them for free in some sort of raffle, so it's not like I lost anything! Fortunately, the rest of my imported stuff is bootleg free ^_^

Edisim · « **Reply #9 on:** March 28, 2004, 12:32:05 PM »

Ahhh. If all you wanted was to TRY IT OUT, you should have just downloaded the R*M... hm, I wonder if.. Can I say that here? R*M?

edit: phew! fixed that embarassing mistake.

If I get banned for saying ROM, KnowsNothing should be banned for that sig about drama and anal laxatives..

KDR_11k · « **Reply #10 on:** March 28, 2004, 07:05:11 PM »

Edisim: Talking about ROMs and endorsing them is against the forum rules, better edit that post before the hand of Go... Bloodworth smites you.

KnowsNothing · « **Reply #11 on:** March 29, 2004, 02:30:26 PM »

Well, although you haven't been rated in at least a year, I'm glad to see you're positive feedback at 100%, kingvudu. If it was any less I would be forced to make you eats bees. The hard way.

SUPPER: Seeing that he is from hong-kong, and, according to vuduking, the game is about $20 cheaper at a buy-it-now status, I would say it is safe to jump to conclusions. Have fun with your pirated game!
*kingvudu gets a non-pirated game* -- and SUPER wins again.....

Edisim: BAND

EDIT: Edism, I love how you censored that word, but then used it again a few words later when decribing what you censored. Very slick. And my sig its fine IT'S PERFECTLY NORMAL AND PERFECTLY LEGAL in most states and canada

TheYoungerPlumber · « **Reply #12 on:** March 30, 2004, 07:51:45 AM »

Mike Suzuki got a bootleg Zelda: LttP GBA in HK a little while back--though we couldn't find it for Four Swords multiplayer action before we hunted down the GC import. Keep an eye out for the Ninfendo logo!

Djunknown · « **Reply #13 on:** April 06, 2004, 04:15:31 PM »

Hate to beat a dead horse but bear with me.

I found (but have not bid...yet) on LoZ Oracle of seasons and ages, but they are suspicously cheap. I was about to bid right away until I remembered this thread. Oh the Paranoia!

The sellers not from from HK, but Nintendo doesn't have a screenshot specifically showing counterfeit Game Boy Color cartridges. Call me lazy (or un-american...), but I'm in no mood to file a lawsuit if its bust. Choices....

Bill Aurion · « **Reply #14 on:** April 07, 2004, 12:24:02 PM »

I know the real games are clear, though I wouldn't know if the fake ones are too...

Dratatoo · « **Reply #15 on:** April 09, 2004, 08:18:46 AM »

Avoid ebay at all costs, most of the gba games are bootlegs. Unfortunally I had to find it out the hard way.

If you insist of using the ebay platform make sure that:

the item has a well written description
the author states that the product isn't a bootleg
a real life photo is included (advertising pictures or links to other sites don't count)
if a deal is to good to be true, most likley it is fraud

Dratatoo · « **Reply #16 on:** April 09, 2004, 08:26:05 AM »

Another indication of a bootleg is, that the module doesn't fit that easily in the gba cartride slot. You need much more pressure than the normal gba cartrides require.
Secondly, to reduce production costs most producers of bootlegs don't include an internal battery in "their" modules.

Djunknown · « **Reply #17 on:** April 09, 2004, 04:50:15 PM »

Small update for those who care...

I guess I jumped the gun as the bids went up as the days went along. I decided to just say, "Screw it, I'll bid; Gamestop rapes you on used games anyway..." I got if for 24.42, not bad for 2 games...

Bill: You're right. I checked Nintendo's site, and they do have a pic of a bootleg GBC, which doesn't have the plastic casing. I guess Nintendo caught on with the GBC, maybe its hard to fake the plastic casings?

I'll find out in a week or so if its bust. Still this might be the first/last time I'll buy cartdriges on E-bay; that paranoia feeling doesn't go away easily....

kirby_killer_dedede · « **Reply #18 on:** April 12, 2004, 02:20:11 PM »

Mr. Von Riktor finds it humrous that there is no "authentic" SUPER 108-IN-ONE. And, judging by the picture, Mr. Von Riktor bets that that hunk-o-junk is meant for GBAs, and cannot be played on a GBC. Kind of funny....

Mr. Von Riktor wonders what the hell "Pikachu Land" is.

Mr. Von RIktor thinks it's necessary to know that when I visited India, Mr. Von Riktor and I saw this pack for sale and both agreed that it was interesting that on all the copies...

A) The box was in a trillion zillion shreds and all beat up and half open.
B) There was no box, most likely cuz the box was too messed up.

EDIT: Dratatoo DOUBLE POSTED! THE USE OF THE EDIT BUTTON IS CLEARLY SHOWN HERE! MR. VON RIKTOR HOPES MR. DOG AVATAR IS BANNED BECAUSE HE DOES NOT LIKE DOGS. AT ALL. HE HAS A ZERO PERCENT LIKE METER FOR DOGS.

CaseyRyback · « **Reply #19 on:** April 19, 2004, 07:52:19 AM »

If you are buying a rare game for the GBA chances are it is fake. Nintendo is usually mispelled on the back of the cart and the manual is like 6 pages long.

Ghisy · « **Reply #20 on:** April 19, 2004, 08:16:54 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: CaseyRyback
If you are buying a rare game for the GBA chances are it is fake. Nintendo is usually mispelled on the back of the cart and the manual is like 6 pages long.

Hmmm, I've been suspicious about that Link's Awakening DX I bought on ebay last year.
Nothing is mispelled anywhere, the cart features the Nintendo official seal logo and the US serial number for the game but the manual is like 6 pages long, as you say.
The writings on the side of the box are a little fuzzy too.
But eh, the game is working and I didn't pay too much for it. Although it'd suck if it was a bootleg version...

Djunknown · « **Reply #21 on:** April 20, 2004, 04:52:38 PM »

If you're feeling brave you can open it up and inspect the contents. Nintendo's Anti-Piracy site has some photo's you can compare.

I got my Oracle of Ages and Seasons last week, and on closer inspection, they are the real deal. Still though, that feeling of paranoia is almost enough to waltz into Gamestop and pay their high prices for used games...

KDR_11k · « **Reply #22 on:** April 21, 2004, 03:53:23 AM »

Djunknown: What tells you those things at Gamespot aren't counterfeit as well?

vudu · « **Reply #23 on:** April 21, 2004, 12:38:59 PM »

just a little update for y'all.

it's been over a month since i won the auction for what i assume to be a bootleg copy of ninja 5-o. still no game. last week i e-mailed the seller complaining that i hadn't received the game and within an hour he issued me a refund via paypal, no questions asked. so i can't say anything bad there. apparently he'd rather refund my money than risk me putting up a stink and drawing attention to him.

then, today, i found this. if you scroll down to the bottom of the page, the third (and last) seller listed is none other than our friend "gamefunny" (the seller of the auction i won). apparently he's made quite a name for himself in the couple of months he's been operating on ebay under this name.

Djunknown · « **Reply #24 on:** April 21, 2004, 04:51:40 PM »

Well Kingvudu, all's well that ends well I guess.

Quote
: What tells you those things at Gamestop aren't counterfeit as well?

Good question. I live in Michigan, which isn't near either of the Coasts, doubtful there would be a bootleg ring, but I could be wrong. The odds are someone actively scamming Gamestop is pretty small. ( to be fair There was an incident in California where the local law enforcement did a sting operation. They traded in stolen consoles, games, accessories etc, and the employees didn't bother following procedure. I believe everyone got fired. But that's the exception, not the rule.)

The one I frequent are sticklers for the rules, they take down names, addresses etc when trading in. Knowingly giving fraudlent goods is a crime, and I'm sure the manager(s) will call the authorites on you w/o delay. But you do bring a good point.

News:

Author Topic: counterfeit gba games (Read 6610 times)