If it looks too good to be true, it probably is... I like to buy games with video store rental stickers, names written on them, and maybe a few light scratches. That way I know they are real. I have never personally encountered an artificially aged counterfeit game.
I recently got ninja gaiden 3 for 57$ i thought it might have been fake because of the price. But the picture has a few small rips and looks a bit faded. Also the top is a little broken for some reason.
I've seen and even bought a fake game that had rental stickers on it. That isnt always a safe bet. Some sellers are clever and will either use a damaged shell or make it look more damaged to make a fake game appear more legit.
I loved the "Get outta there!" transitions, those cracked me up. I don't collect as much as I used to, but I didn't have to deal with this nearly as much even a few years ago. Makes me sad to see how many reproductions are floating around on eBay these days, and sometimes even the "honest" ones use weasel-words ("72-pins") so you might not be aware it's a repro unless you've already educated yourself. Great video, I really enjoy your channel!
Thanks for this. I’m 34 and just started collecting NES games and consoles. I have money that’s not an issue. The issue is verifying fakes and authenticating true games and systems. I’m arming myself with knowledge from this video this week when I finally go into my local shops that sell these.
Heck yeah! Super stoked about a new upload from you! Equally as excited for this new video as I was for Saturday morning cartoons when I was a kid!! Keep up the fantastic work man!
Nothing wrong with repro cartridges, as long as you know what you're buying and nobody's trying to scam you. I own a lot of Gameboy games- both original and repro- and I've never come across any issues with the latter. They work and save just fine. Heck, some are even better than the original ones because they're using onboard memory to save progress instead of physical batteries. And some feature battery sockets, something Nintendo should have considered implementing back in the day. Talk about convenient.
I got 2 super famicom games from Ebay a few months ago and they were swapped with Mario Paint boards. Not even expensive games. It's a thing for sure. Great video, thanks!!
NESComplex I know man the seller claimed they were her sons and he would never do such a thing but it even had the name of the game on the board in Sharpie. On Street Fighter 2 of all things lol.
I have Cool Spot for SNES that was swapped into an NBA Live shell... one of my friends had given it to me. Seems they might have rented Cool Spot and stuck it into a sports game they bought on clearance back in the late 90s. It was nearly a decade later when it was given to me so I kept it, not worried about it possible having been stolen as the store it was rented from probably had went out of business anyway.
The number of times I've brought a fake gameboy cart is ridiculous, especially the dang' pokemon and harvest moon ones. The carts sometimes with boxes look impeccable, only to be let down once you eventually decide to open the cart. I bet there's a factory somewhere in China dedicated to gameboy bootlegs. It's an epidemic.
Excellent video...definately an important subject that doesn't often have examples like you had. Now remember kids, if it's fake then...GET OUTTA THERE!
Yep... most of the major points covered. GREAT video, and straight to the point. In the case of Gb, Gbc and Gba most of those things served me through the years. a) Check the label, even online... if there is a real photo, sometimes you can make out the 2 digit stamp impresss on the cover. b) Check the plastic is not flat, and the "nintendo GAME BOY" is complete and with the proper font. c) Checking the board is always definitive. But point a and b reduce the chances of getting a bootleg online. Never buy without a photo, and never buy from china or hong kong.
Awesome video! I recently bought an Earthbound cart, and I checked it thoroughly, even looking at pictures online before I got the cart. After watching this I'm going to check it again, just for good measure!
Great tips. I'm almost at the point where I prefer worn labels on carts and price tags on older boxes just to lend to authenticity. So many fakes out there.
Dusty! A winner is you! I've been seeing that comment... it's an interesting point. I wonder how many counterfeiters intentionally distress their fakes?
I’ve been lucky to not run into many counterfeit games in my neck of the woods. But then again, I don’t come across retro games that much at all in the wild. So that might have something to do with it. :P Great tips! I’ll keep them in mind the next time I go out hunting and spot a rare one. ;)
I have a bootleg that embarrassingly fooled me for the better part of a year. I got Ninja Spirit for the original Game Boy at a swap meet for 5 bucks. It did have a sticker with the name over the top portion of the label, but it was so "rare" and hard to find online, the only other one I saw had the same sticker (and $100 price), and it is very high quality. I assumed the factory misprinted the name and stuck the sticker on. The game works perfectly. The font on the raised lettering is great. Only later did I figure out to slide the cartridge open, see the glob top on the board, and sadly realize this whole year, I forgot Ninja Spirit only came out in Japan on GB 😑. And it says "Original Seal of Quality" instead of official. I still love it, and apparently it's an older bootleg and I collect those, like this old Chinese copy of Sailor Moon for MegaDrive I found.
We don't really get fake nes games in the UK but snes however does. We have alot of repro boxes getting traded in to stores and also more expensive title labels over crappy games also. It's put me off buying snes games online really as it's a pain to keep sending them back
Heh...reminded me of two GBA games in the box I found at a local thrift store going for 90 cents: Monsters Inc and Spider-Man: Mysterio's Revenge. The boxes were a lot shinier than standard GBA boxes, then the carts themselves were just rattling around in the box: no inserts to keep them in place. Then the "manual" was just a print of the wraparound cover with some information on the inside. But the real fun was when I fired up the Spider-Man cart...the bootlegger didn't even bother to remove the original ripper's information off the ROM, complete with the f-word in the description! I still have both simply for the hilarity of it all.
NESComplex ive always been good at spotting fakes but there is a ton of people who have no clue they have a fake. If you bought the cheapest listing from ebay and it shipped from china its not probably real. I will share with my friends. I only have 2 friends though.
Thanks for the video NESComplex. I just purchased two metroid games and after watching your video discovered they were fake! Luckily I was able to get a full refund from the seller.
Pay attention to the detail is the most important thing. Ideally, you should buy from a local seller who uses their own images instead of 'stock images'.
Im sure your cleaning videos helped me to get it in gear and clean all my personal collection. I'll credit you, NesComplex, on those actions that lead to me getting hired at 1UP Games. Thank YOU.
The only time I've seen the security stickers was from blockbuster, hollywood video or some of the other more serious game rental places. If you messed with the sticker it usually meant an extra fee for trying to tamper with a game or vhs.
Great video for new collector's but here are some other helpful tips. Not all games had glossy labels. Almost all games released during '95-'02 had paper labels. This includes SNES, N64, GB, GBC, and GBA. Some companies like Acclaim used cheap labels as well as their own boards for their games which a newbie may consider fake. The printed 24 on the back of some NES games is real. Several NES games have them. If an expensive game is in perfectly flawless condition, it may be a fake. Always bring a game bit with you to inspect it.
Tip #1 stay away from Chinese eBay sellers. Tip #2 try to buy from sellers with 1000 or more positive feedback. Also real SNES labels can peel up as well. My lufia 1 and Castlevania IV had mint labels but we're starting to lift.
1000+ feedback is only going to happen for a reseller of some kind. It's true that those guys are going to be more concerned with their rep than some fly-by-night account created yesterday with a feedback score of 5, but.. if it's a personal account with 100 feedback over the last four years, that's also a significant investment in good trade etiquette, just at a lower scale. I have 550 or so, and I've had my account since around 1999. I do NOT want to start over. The main reason I bring this up -- besides the obvious point that there are tons of individuals out there selling and trading from their own collection, and some of that is good stuff at a fair price -- is that I have much better luck getting a known quantity from one-off sales vs. resellers. For example, if you go to eBay and try to snag a copy of Super Mario World, the dude with 150 feedback might have four pictures of the cart, a description that mentions "a minor scratch on the back label", and things like that. (It also might be a photo taken with a Polaroid and scanned with a webcam, and a description that says "works good", but I digress.) The bulk resellers almost always just take one great picture of their best copy, then fill the item description with three pages of HTML crap that looks like a balloon animal made sweet love to the classifieds section of a newspaper. There will be small italic text somewhere that says "stock photo - you will receive an item in similar condition." By that, of course, they mean you will receive a yellowed cart with half the label missing, that nobody has even casually brushed up against a roll of paper towels after having dipped it in melted cherry snow-cone. Opinions will differ, but I would rather know what I'm getting so I can judge for myself if it meets my standards for cosmetic condition. I would much rather have a perfect authentic shell with a non-working PCB than a working game that looks like it was pulled from the bottom of a dumpster. After all, I can always find a cheap dumpster copy and swap the PCB myself.
Ohhh man, I got burned on a case of Zelda phantom hourglass for DS. Fortunately I had the money that it didn't kill me for jumping the gun. Looking to buy TMNT IV right now, which is what sent me to your video, looking at a cartridge on ebay that has NO sticker on the back, it's all embossed and I don't ever remember seeing that before.
PSA for those in NA: The guy selling the copy of Xenoblade Chronicles (and other harder-to-find titles) for 25% less than everyone else, still in shrink wrap, with only a stock photo of the cover? Yeah, it IS (probably) authentic, BUT, it's a copy meant to be sold in Singapore and the UAE. It should work in a US console, but if you're a collector, be aware that there are markings on the cover and the disc that show its intended region, and it has no trade value. If in doubt, only go for auctions with a real photo of the actual item. If it looks like a NA copy but there's a circle on the bottom right of the cover, approximately 1.5" in diameter, and divided into three green/blue/gray colored sections from top to bottom -- that's an import. They are cheaper than legit US copies, and so are commonly resold at near-US prices for a quick and easy markup. Judgment call on whether to bite or not, just an FYI so you know what you're getting.
Loved this video, and this is so true. I was working at a game shop a few months back and someone tried to trade in a copy of chrono cross on PS1. Now of course the biggest indication that it was fake was the bottom wasn't black like all PS1 games are, it was clear like a DVD or PS2 game. But the strange thing is we tested the game and it worked.
Right now, Square Enix is selling a few PS1 games on their website. I saw Final Fantasy Origins and Final Fantasy Anthology along with a couple others. Those games are way out of print, so Square Enix is actually pressing discs with silver bottoms just like a DVD. They are the only company I've heard of doing this, so that Chrono Cross is probably one of those cool official reprints!
I had no idea that a game could be faked like that, they get sold often and how expensive games got in America! But these days I can’t afford free anyways
Yes it is! He's right next to Cobra Commander (I love them a Latta) I have him complete, but i didn't put in the missiles. I didn't want them to fire off behind the shelves.
Thank you! That's what i was trying to accomplish with this video. When i started buying heavy hitters i wanted a short to the point guide, but most videos were longer or kinda drifted off point. All i wanted was something short and to the point... since i couldn't find that video... i decided to make it :-D
Make sure you get a game bit screwdriver. It’s almost impossible to fake the circuit board. At least with Nintendo games. The best way is to have at least one legit cartridge to reference. The boards of different games will look a little different but you’ll be able to tell if ones fake
Awesome! I know most of these tips are common sense but a lot of people don't know how bad the problem is or what to look for. Glad you were able to get something out of this!
You should mention that there are made in Mexico games on SNES that have crap labels and some may think they are fake, along with black & white manual.
I think the hilarity of that of that fake Bonks Adventure is they already went through the trouble of shelling with a authentic NES game so why the fake back label? Like just buy a $5 double dribble or something and it can be even more real without such a obvious flaw. Although, people will inevitably open it so it might not even be worth it.
Great video and great tips.. I'm almost afraid to look at some of my games now to examine them.. and were you and Bucky dining on Gameboy cartridges?? Sickening.
I’ve seen a lot of snes games on eBay that obviously are using plastic screws.... but then say whether or not if it’s authentic. I’m almost 100% sure they never used plastic screws.
Those globs are called blacktop chips which are literally microchips with rubber cement in Lou of proper protective casing and are exclusive to counterfeit Nintendo games because the black top chip is designed discentagrate so there is no proof of Bebe's kid's.
So, I bought a Mario Kart 64 cartridge with a crooked back label. As far as I know, there were no numbers punched into the back labels of N64 cartridges, so I can't use that as a guide. What's the likelihood this is a fake?
N64 is a different animal altogether! Authentic labels are paper and not glossy. I’d look at the board and search for comparisons online. It’s probably legit though.
I got a bootleg EVO: The Search for Eden for SNES, and it actually destroyed my SNES. Tried it, the SNES started putting out weird colors, then it died.
I have a second release super castlevania 4. I bought it off eBay and didn’t realize what I had until I compared it with my two other first release super castlevania carts as they are the older plastic shell. I was kinda pissed and took it to my friend who’s an expert on these games and he looked at it and said it’s real right away. He even took it apart and showed me the circuit board and all the signs it’s real. It turns out that Nintendo released second issue games through a company named Majestico from Mexico. I swear that super castlevania cart that’s the second gen game shell sounds a little off and I noticed smaller details that’s also off.
I've fortunately avoided counterfeits for the most part. The one time I got burned was a bootleg of Metroid Zero Mission. Had to pay 3x to get a legit copy afterwards.
A while back I actually bought a PlayStation 3 controller off of eBay for $30 and when it came in I thought it looked legit, but I noticed something was off when I tried playing Little Big Planet and Sackboy's head was constantly looking down and to the right. Realizing something was wrong I turned the system off, unscrewed the back of the controller and found it was missing one of the rumble motors and the battery was half the size of a real one and was stuck to the board with electrical tape.
excellent video. would love to see more videos with fakes to see some other common things to look for. or would that just give the evil people ideas? thanks.
Evil people are always trying to be one step ahead. I think if you open the cart and compare the boards that’ll solve 95% of the problems. The other 5% is repro labels
I just went game shopping at a local comic con yesterday! Thx for the tips! You made me sound pretty smart and informed! My P.O.W. and Wrath of the Black Manta are legit! What games are on your wanted list?
That’s awesome! I’m so glad it helped! I’m aiming mostly at SNES and there are a TON of games I’m looking for: Brawl bros, Skyblazer, NBA Jam, Knights of round, Run saber, Sparkster, Adventure island, Actraiser 2, Cybernator, Turrican 1, Empire, Jedi to name a few. Lol
NESComplex Well I have a copy of Final Fantasy III if you are need. You probably already have it. But if you don’t, I would trade it to you for a copy of Jackal, Bionic Commando, or my personal holy grail ... Nobunaga’s Ambition. Just throwing that out there. Can’t wait for your next upload. Do you ever plan on doing anything for the Playmates TMNT line of the 80’s?
That’s funny. I once got a fake snes2. The box was fake! Lots of spelling errors and lacked the cut out to read the serial number of the console. Crazy people put the efforts into faking a box.
If it looks too good to be true, it probably is... I like to buy games with video store rental stickers, names written on them, and maybe a few light scratches. That way I know they are real. I have never personally encountered an artificially aged counterfeit game.
Those are really good points! I wish i'd included them!
sad but true. if you see a game with a pristine box, avoid it.
Excellent advice. If it has an old Blockbuster sticker, it's probably good to go
I recently got ninja gaiden 3 for 57$ i thought it might have been fake because of the price. But the picture has a few small rips and looks a bit faded. Also the top is a little broken for some reason.
I've seen and even bought a fake game that had rental stickers on it. That isnt always a safe bet. Some sellers are clever and will either use a damaged shell or make it look more damaged to make a fake game appear more legit.
I just stopped stealing all Ricky's fake games and started stealing your real games ✨
Well that's an entirely different video
I loved the "Get outta there!" transitions, those cracked me up.
I don't collect as much as I used to, but I didn't have to deal with this nearly as much even a few years ago. Makes me sad to see how many reproductions are floating around on eBay these days, and sometimes even the "honest" ones use weasel-words ("72-pins") so you might not be aware it's a repro unless you've already educated yourself. Great video, I really enjoy your channel!
Thank you so much! I honestly use Retro Pi more than my actual games. The counterfeit game is getting ridiculous
Thanks for this. I’m 34 and just started collecting NES games and consoles. I have money that’s not an issue. The issue is verifying fakes and authenticating true games and systems. I’m arming myself with knowledge from this video this week when I finally go into my local shops that sell these.
Heck yeah! Super stoked about a new upload from you! Equally as excited for this new video as I was for Saturday morning cartoons when I was a kid!! Keep up the fantastic work man!
I always appreciate your comments! Thank you!
As someone just now getting into retro games from my childhood these were good easy to remember things. Great video!
Nothing wrong with repro cartridges, as long as you know what you're buying and nobody's trying to scam you.
I own a lot of Gameboy games- both original and repro- and I've never come across any issues with the latter. They work and save just fine. Heck, some are even better than the original ones because they're using onboard memory to save progress instead of physical batteries. And some feature battery sockets, something Nintendo should have considered implementing back in the day. Talk about convenient.
I agree. I love my repros! And homebrews On cart! Just those scammers that got me angry
I got 2 super famicom games from Ebay a few months ago and they were swapped with Mario Paint boards. Not even expensive games. It's a thing for sure. Great video, thanks!!
That's so weird... why do that?
NESComplex I know man the seller claimed they were her sons and he would never do such a thing but it even had the name of the game on the board in Sharpie. On Street Fighter 2 of all things lol.
I have Cool Spot for SNES that was swapped into an NBA Live shell... one of my friends had given it to me. Seems they might have rented Cool Spot and stuck it into a sports game they bought on clearance back in the late 90s. It was nearly a decade later when it was given to me so I kept it, not worried about it possible having been stolen as the store it was rented from probably had went out of business anyway.
Nothing could feel worse than dropping a few hundred bucks on a copy of Madden 94 with a Earthbound label lol.
Lol. Man it’s happened to people
Hey Chris what camera are using? I wouldn't mind looking this good on camera :D also it's so good to see you back! missed you man.
The number of times I've brought a fake gameboy cart is ridiculous, especially the dang' pokemon and harvest moon ones. The carts sometimes with boxes look impeccable, only to be let down once you eventually decide to open the cart. I bet there's a factory somewhere in China dedicated to gameboy bootlegs. It's an epidemic.
I'm sure there is... especially with Pokemon! The GBA is the worst for fakes
Excellent work as always dude. Way to make this not only extremely informative but also entertaining!
Thanks man! That was the plan. :-)
Excellent video...definately an important subject that doesn't often have examples like you had. Now remember kids, if it's fake then...GET OUTTA THERE!
Someone suggested I change it to “if it’s a fake PUNCH THEM IN THE FACE!” Lol
Another great episode! All great tips!
Thanks man! I know most of these tips are common sense, but i wanted a simple to the point video to help new collectors
Yep... most of the major points covered. GREAT video, and straight to the point. In the case of Gb, Gbc and Gba most of those things served me through the years. a) Check the label, even online... if there is a real photo, sometimes you can make out the 2 digit stamp impresss on the cover. b) Check the plastic is not flat, and the "nintendo GAME BOY" is complete and with the proper font. c) Checking the board is always definitive. But point a and b reduce the chances of getting a bootleg online. Never buy without a photo, and never buy from china or hong kong.
I now these are common sense but even though i know these obvious points, it's easy to be too trusting and not check everything out
Awesome video! I recently bought an Earthbound cart, and I checked it thoroughly, even looking at pictures online before I got the cart. After watching this I'm going to check it again, just for good measure!
I’m sure it’s legit! If the board is real. Fingers crossed
I just checked using the link you provided and it is real! I was a little nervous at first, but I'm stoked that it is real!
I greatly appreciate the tips and insight on spotting fake games. Thank you for making this video.
Thank u soo much. U are a one in a million person to help people spot fakes. Thank u again. U are a good person
Thank you! Hopefully this video saved a few people some heartache
Thank you for coming back. And thank you for this video.
I glad you're enjoying these new videos. I know this one is more intended to be informational for new collectors... thank you for your support!
Great video man! People need to know this stuff people are getting ripped off every day.
Great tips. I'm almost at the point where I prefer worn labels on carts and price tags on older boxes just to lend to authenticity. So many fakes out there.
Dusty! A winner is you! I've been seeing that comment... it's an interesting point. I wonder how many counterfeiters intentionally distress their fakes?
NESComplex I'm honestly hoping not a lot.
I’ve been lucky to not run into many counterfeit games in my neck of the woods. But then again, I don’t come across retro games that much at all in the wild. So that might have something to do with it. :P
Great tips! I’ll keep them in mind the next time I go out hunting and spot a rare one. ;)
I’m seeing them more and more. It sucks when I started I never saw fakes
I have a bootleg that embarrassingly fooled me for the better part of a year. I got Ninja Spirit for the original Game Boy at a swap meet for 5 bucks. It did have a sticker with the name over the top portion of the label, but it was so "rare" and hard to find online, the only other one I saw had the same sticker (and $100 price), and it is very high quality. I assumed the factory misprinted the name and stuck the sticker on. The game works perfectly. The font on the raised lettering is great. Only later did I figure out to slide the cartridge open, see the glob top on the board, and sadly realize this whole year, I forgot Ninja Spirit only came out in Japan on GB 😑. And it says "Original Seal of Quality" instead of official. I still love it, and apparently it's an older bootleg and I collect those, like this old Chinese copy of Sailor Moon for MegaDrive I found.
I had a Zero 4 on GBA for several years before I realized it was bogus. It happens to the best of us :-(
Really well structured and informative video, thanks a lot for sharing!
Great video and advice for retro game collectors and fellow Old Game Look Forers™
Silly and Che just shake the games to test for authenticity
Ah yes the little stamped numbers. Best way to instantly discard any fake Game Boy Pokémon games.
Pokemon is so often the target too
That's why i used Pokemon as an example. Pokemon is such a common fake! Ugh I hate counterfeiters
Most of them are just laughable though, I mean a grey Pokémon Red cart? Yeah right.
Great video my man!
Thanks Steven
We don't really get fake nes games in the UK but snes however does. We have alot of repro boxes getting traded in to stores and also more expensive title labels over crappy games also. It's put me off buying snes games online really as it's a pain to keep sending them back
I know! I;m so hesitant to buy online these days! Unless i have a thorough conversation with them and they give me the pictures i request
hahaha love the little cut scenes... adds some comedy to your videos.... great stuff
Thanks! I wanted to keep it informative yet fun :-)
Heh...reminded me of two GBA games in the box I found at a local thrift store going for 90 cents: Monsters Inc and Spider-Man: Mysterio's Revenge. The boxes were a lot shinier than standard GBA boxes, then the carts themselves were just rattling around in the box: no inserts to keep them in place. Then the "manual" was just a print of the wraparound cover with some information on the inside.
But the real fun was when I fired up the Spider-Man cart...the bootlegger didn't even bother to remove the original ripper's information off the ROM, complete with the f-word in the description! I still have both simply for the hilarity of it all.
That's hilarious and kinda awesome! Having a few fakes is kinda fun for the novelty and to show people when they come over
great vid, great channel. love your content
Thanks Greg! I appreciate it! Great comment!
This is a great guide. I really appreciate this and thank you for the content
Thanks Andrew... I hope it's helpful to you
NESComplex ive always been good at spotting fakes but there is a ton of people who have no clue they have a fake. If you bought the cheapest listing from ebay and it shipped from china its not probably real. I will share with my friends. I only have 2 friends though.
"I'm just glad we can get to know each other better" LOL Congrats on the 25K!
Thanks... kind of a throwback to Bucky OHare "Is It Fun?" lol
Thank you for this. Keep up the good work.
Thank you! I will.
You're killing it, man! Thanks for this helpful video! Welcome back!
Thanks! Woo hoo for killing
Thanks for the video NESComplex. I just purchased two metroid games and after watching your video discovered they were fake! Luckily I was able to get a full refund from the seller.
Awesome tips!!! Thank you for sharing!!! :)
I really liked the "Get out of there" tiny segments from the various games haha!
Thanks man! Those were fun to do... i wanted to throw in some fun to an otherwise informational dump.
Mabe having a video on spotting fake manuals could be beneficial as well. Personally I love collecting manuals almost as much as the games.
Fantastic tips, man. Learned a thing or two myself, thanks!
Thank you!
Pay attention to the detail is the most important thing.
Ideally, you should buy from a local seller who uses their own images instead of 'stock images'.
Im sure your cleaning videos helped me to get it in gear and clean all my personal collection. I'll credit you, NesComplex, on those actions that lead to me getting hired at 1UP Games. Thank YOU.
Hahaha. Awesome! Thanks
You're the best! Thank you for making this video and once again, welcome back!
No no no. You’re the best! Thank you!
Oh no no, don't try & one up me there good sir...you're the best and thank YOU!
The only time I've seen the security stickers was from blockbuster, hollywood video or some of the other more serious game rental places. If you messed with the sticker it usually meant an extra fee for trying to tamper with a game or vhs.
Great video for new collector's but here are some other helpful tips.
Not all games had glossy labels. Almost all games released during '95-'02 had paper labels. This includes SNES, N64, GB, GBC, and GBA.
Some companies like Acclaim used cheap labels as well as their own boards for their games which a newbie may consider fake.
The printed 24 on the back of some NES games is real. Several NES games have them.
If an expensive game is in perfectly flawless condition, it may be a fake. Always bring a game bit with you to inspect it.
Thank you! There are exceptions to almost every part of this topic... it’s difficult to be concise and not overwhelm people with all the exceptions.
Tip #1 stay away from Chinese eBay sellers.
Tip #2 try to buy from sellers with 1000 or more positive feedback.
Also real SNES labels can peel up as well. My lufia 1 and Castlevania IV had mint labels but we're starting to lift.
Oh for sure... but when labels peel it’s a red flag to inspect further
1000+ feedback is only going to happen for a reseller of some kind. It's true that those guys are going to be more concerned with their rep than some fly-by-night account created yesterday with a feedback score of 5, but.. if it's a personal account with 100 feedback over the last four years, that's also a significant investment in good trade etiquette, just at a lower scale. I have 550 or so, and I've had my account since around 1999. I do NOT want to start over.
The main reason I bring this up -- besides the obvious point that there are tons of individuals out there selling and trading from their own collection, and some of that is good stuff at a fair price -- is that I have much better luck getting a known quantity from one-off sales vs. resellers.
For example, if you go to eBay and try to snag a copy of Super Mario World, the dude with 150 feedback might have four pictures of the cart, a description that mentions "a minor scratch on the back label", and things like that. (It also might be a photo taken with a Polaroid and scanned with a webcam, and a description that says "works good", but I digress.) The bulk resellers almost always just take one great picture of their best copy, then fill the item description with three pages of HTML crap that looks like a balloon animal made sweet love to the classifieds section of a newspaper. There will be small italic text somewhere that says "stock photo - you will receive an item in similar condition." By that, of course, they mean you will receive a yellowed cart with half the label missing, that nobody has even casually brushed up against a roll of paper towels after having dipped it in melted cherry snow-cone.
Opinions will differ, but I would rather know what I'm getting so I can judge for myself if it meets my standards for cosmetic condition. I would much rather have a perfect authentic shell with a non-working PCB than a working game that looks like it was pulled from the bottom of a dumpster. After all, I can always find a cheap dumpster copy and swap the PCB myself.
yeah. if you see sellers with listings for repro boxes or labels, etc., avoid them. everything they sell is suspect.
Most of that does seem like common sense, but you can never be sure without knowing the facts. Thanks for the informative video!
It is common sense but people are far too trusting and they overlook simple things
Ohhh man, I got burned on a case of Zelda phantom hourglass for DS. Fortunately I had the money that it didn't kill me for jumping the gun.
Looking to buy TMNT IV right now, which is what sent me to your video, looking at a cartridge on ebay that has NO sticker on the back, it's all embossed and I don't ever remember seeing that before.
Did not know about the stamped numbers. Learned something new!
Knowing is half the battle
I never knew about the number stamp. Very insightful as always! Great video dude, and I’d totally have dinner with an NES cart.
Yeah but which one?
Great video as always!
Thanks Martin!
Awesome video.
Thanks Armando! 👍🏼
PSA for those in NA:
The guy selling the copy of Xenoblade Chronicles (and other harder-to-find titles) for 25% less than everyone else, still in shrink wrap, with only a stock photo of the cover? Yeah, it IS (probably) authentic, BUT, it's a copy meant to be sold in Singapore and the UAE. It should work in a US console, but if you're a collector, be aware that there are markings on the cover and the disc that show its intended region, and it has no trade value.
If in doubt, only go for auctions with a real photo of the actual item. If it looks like a NA copy but there's a circle on the bottom right of the cover, approximately 1.5" in diameter, and divided into three green/blue/gray colored sections from top to bottom -- that's an import. They are cheaper than legit US copies, and so are commonly resold at near-US prices for a quick and easy markup.
Judgment call on whether to bite or not, just an FYI so you know what you're getting.
Keep it up bro!!! Nice Video!!! I really liked the humour in your content!!!
Thanks man... I didn't want this to just be an information dump. I'm glad you appreciate the oddball jokes
Haha this was very informative and also very enjoying! Thanks for the vid, can't wait for more!
Thank you! I'm glad you found entertainment value here beyond the information
Great video as always! Never knew about the board code matching what’s on the label and was always curious about this digits on the back.
I’m glad you learned something here. Thank you
I don’t know what they mean on Nintendo but Atari games have them too. It tells you exactly when it was made
Great video
Thank you!
Loved this video, and this is so true. I was working at a game shop a few months back and someone tried to trade in a copy of chrono cross on PS1. Now of course the biggest indication that it was fake was the bottom wasn't black like all PS1 games are, it was clear like a DVD or PS2 game. But the strange thing is we tested the game and it worked.
Counterfeits are getting better but it’s hard to replicate everything perfect
Right now, Square Enix is selling a few PS1 games on their website. I saw Final Fantasy Origins and Final Fantasy Anthology along with a couple others. Those games are way out of print, so Square Enix is actually pressing discs with silver bottoms just like a DVD. They are the only company I've heard of doing this, so that Chrono Cross is probably one of those cool official reprints!
I had no idea that a game could be faked like that, they get sold often and how expensive games got in America! But these days I can’t afford free anyways
The counterfeiting is getting crazy
Is that Starscream on your shelf complete? Missile launchers, hands, wings, and all? Looks great on your shelf back there behind Shredder.
Yes it is! He's right next to Cobra Commander (I love them a Latta) I have him complete, but i didn't put in the missiles. I didn't want them to fire off behind the shelves.
Great tips! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you!
Really great video!
Great vid. Informative. Its good for beginners and it wasnt too long. Right to the point with examples!
Thank you! That's what i was trying to accomplish with this video. When i started buying heavy hitters i wanted a short to the point guide, but most videos were longer or kinda drifted off point. All i wanted was something short and to the point... since i couldn't find that video... i decided to make it :-D
Really good tips! Some were things I never knew to look for.
Thank you! Many of them seem like common sense but when you're holding a game it's easy to overlook simple things. This checklist works
Make sure you get a game bit screwdriver. It’s almost impossible to fake the circuit board. At least with Nintendo games.
The best way is to have at least one legit cartridge to reference. The boards of different games will look a little different but you’ll be able to tell if ones fake
Great tips! :-)
Thank you Ed
Wow I just went to pixel games vault last week and got a really good clean snes
Great! I learned something new, because I didn’t know about the imprinted number
Awesome! I know most of these tips are common sense but a lot of people don't know how bad the problem is or what to look for. Glad you were able to get something out of this!
You should mention that there are made in Mexico games on SNES that have crap labels and some may think they are fake, along with black & white manual.
That’s a good point... I wish I could add it to the video
NESComplex could always do a part 2 :P
I think the hilarity of that of that fake Bonks Adventure is they already went through the trouble of shelling with a authentic NES game so why the fake back label? Like just buy a $5 double dribble or something and it can be even more real without such a obvious flaw. Although, people will inevitably open it so it might not even be worth it.
Give me that MetalStorm NESComplex. Great tips! Specially the GET OUT OF THERE one.
Lol... no way! It's crazy i bought that when i started collecting $15 with manual! Things have changed
NESComplex dang! I'm happy with you showing it at least.
NESComplex any update on the podcast? I miss it.
they could have also flashed the english version on that but they did not take the extra step
Excellent advise
Great video and great tips.. I'm almost afraid to look at some of my games now to examine them.. and were you and Bucky dining on Gameboy cartridges?? Sickening.
He was... gotta know what your date likes. lol
I’ve seen a lot of snes games on eBay that obviously are using plastic screws.... but then say whether or not if it’s authentic. I’m almost 100% sure they never used plastic screws.
I seen repair videos where they had to add wires in order to make it work again
U should do video on splatterhouse house games they have different cirkit boards
Of course you have mega man x3, I've wanted to play that game for a long time.
I bought it just before making this video. I have wanted it for a long time too!
Those globs are called blacktop chips which are literally microchips with rubber cement in Lou of proper protective casing and are exclusive to counterfeit Nintendo games because the black top chip is designed discentagrate so there is no proof of Bebe's kid's.
Thanks
Great tips for the next generation of hunters that I have to stay one step ahead of. Thanks bro! :P
Lol
So, I bought a Mario Kart 64 cartridge with a crooked back label. As far as I know, there were no numbers punched into the back labels of N64 cartridges, so I can't use that as a guide. What's the likelihood this is a fake?
N64 is a different animal altogether! Authentic labels are paper and not glossy. I’d look at the board and search for comparisons online. It’s probably legit though.
There are numbers punched onto the back of N64 game paks. If you can't find it beware!!
I got a bootleg EVO: The Search for Eden for SNES, and it actually destroyed my SNES. Tried it, the SNES started putting out weird colors, then it died.
That’s TERRIBLE! I swear these counterfeiters really fry my last nerve!!!
Super Famicom converter in a cart is insane lmao
I have a second release super castlevania 4. I bought it off eBay and didn’t realize what I had until I compared it with my two other first release super castlevania carts as they are the older plastic shell. I was kinda pissed and took it to my friend who’s an expert on these games and he looked at it and said it’s real right away. He even took it apart and showed me the circuit board and all the signs it’s real. It turns out that Nintendo released second issue games through a company named Majestico from Mexico. I swear that super castlevania cart that’s the second gen game shell sounds a little off and I noticed smaller details that’s also off.
I've fortunately avoided counterfeits for the most part. The one time I got burned was a bootleg of Metroid Zero Mission. Had to pay 3x to get a legit copy afterwards.
A while back I actually bought a PlayStation 3 controller off of eBay for $30 and when it came in I thought it looked legit, but I noticed something was off when I tried playing Little Big Planet and Sackboy's head was constantly looking down and to the right. Realizing something was wrong I turned the system off, unscrewed the back of the controller and found it was missing one of the rumble motors and the battery was half the size of a real one and was stuck to the board with electrical tape.
Good stuff! I know you had to downsize your collection a while back. Are you going back after anything you sold?
You better believe it! I’m aiming at SNES
excellent video. would love to see more videos with fakes to see some other common things to look for. or would that just give the evil people ideas? thanks.
Evil people are always trying to be one step ahead. I think if you open the cart and compare the boards that’ll solve 95% of the problems. The other 5% is repro labels
With a lot of Super famicom games I've found a couple of Street fighter 2 games that Scream out they're fake first up the shells are wrong tbc
Sometimes the back has been switched. Generally I'm ok with that, as long as the front is OK and the board is genuine.
If your meeting someone in a parking lot and they only want cash, don't forget tip #6, bring a gun!
1:56 is my fav part
Thanks for giving me just the tip!
Nice video, it's terrible we have people like this out there.
I know! It sucks that there are evil people
Very informative. I wonder if my games would prefer Italian or Hibachi..
lol Bucky loves him some GB games... Hes a great game, but horrible date! DUMPED!
thanks for the tips!
You’re welcome. Thank you!
I just went game shopping at a local comic con yesterday! Thx for the tips! You made me sound pretty smart and informed! My P.O.W. and Wrath of the Black Manta are legit!
What games are on your wanted list?
That’s awesome! I’m so glad it helped! I’m aiming mostly at SNES and there are a TON of games I’m looking for: Brawl bros, Skyblazer, NBA Jam, Knights of round, Run saber, Sparkster, Adventure island, Actraiser 2, Cybernator, Turrican 1, Empire, Jedi to name a few. Lol
NESComplex Well I have a copy of Final Fantasy III if you are need. You probably already have it. But if you don’t, I would trade it to you for a copy of Jackal, Bionic Commando, or my personal holy grail ... Nobunaga’s Ambition. Just throwing that out there. Can’t wait for your next upload. Do you ever plan on doing anything for the Playmates TMNT line of the 80’s?
How about the Japanese Family Computer? How can you determine if its counterfeit or genuine?
That’s funny. I once got a fake snes2. The box was fake! Lots of spelling errors and lacked the cut out to read the serial number of the console. Crazy people put the efforts into faking a box.