View Full Version : I'm confused about SMS releases
backguard
05-28-2009, 12:22 PM
It seems like there are all sorts of different releases for different regions. US, UK, Australia etc. How can you identify which region the game is from?
Specifically, I'm looking at purchasing Sonic for the SMS, but would like to get the US version.
Any help would be much appreciated.
megasdkirby
05-28-2009, 12:26 PM
It seems like there are all sorts of different releases for different regions. US, UK, Australia etc. How can you identify which region the game is from?
Specifically, I'm looking at purchasing Sonic for the SMS, but would like to get the US version.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Sonic for the SMS is the same UK version, sans a UPC sticker.
Yup, that's right. Its the same UK game, no difference whatsoever. However, Sega seemed to have imported it for US release and simply added a US UPC sticker. That's it.
Be prepared to shell out $600...for a UPC sticker. I almost did and regretted it. Thank goodness it did not pan out. Last one went for over $600 on Ebay.
US titles start with 010086 as their UPC code, with some exceptions, like third party releases.
alexkidd2000
05-28-2009, 12:53 PM
I would be scared of those USA Sonic carts. How hard would it be to photoshop the upc sticker??
pseudonym
05-28-2009, 01:02 PM
It likely wouldn't be too hard if you had a really good printer to use. If you're just looking it play, the UK Sonic 1 is great, it shouldn't cost more than $5-10 + shipping to pick up.
megasdkirby
05-28-2009, 01:03 PM
I would be scared of those USA Sonic carts. How hard would it be to photoshop the upc sticker??
Correct. This is my fear as well.
Economically, there is no need to do that in the other three games that were distributed in the US with a simple UPC sticker. But Sonic, on the other hand, can be used to con people out of massive amounts of cash. The games that come with a UPC sticker are:
Strider = Not easily obtainable, but not hard either. Can be obtained for less than $25.
Spiderman = Somewhat of a bitch to find with the UPC sticker. It's sticker differs slightly in shape, it being a bit more horizontal in order to include corresponding copyright information. Not easy to find at all. Last one went on Ebay for over $75. Still, I don't consider the game to be used in any form of fraud attempt, but it's still good to be a bit weary.
Golden Axe Warrior = Another bitch title to find with UPC. I was lucking and I scored this for $25 complete, but last copies I've seen have gone up to around $70 as well. I feel the same way I feel about Spiderman on this one.
Sonic = The rarest US release. As mentioned previously, it's price is very high...but the price is basically for a UPC sticker and nothing else.
Heck, if I were to find the box for Sonic, that's all I need. I can easily gut out a UK copy and place it together with a US box for a complete US set. There is no difference whatsoever.
But at least on SMS Tributes, there was a topic I made in which some excellent membets demonstrated that it wasn't that hard to forge a UPC sticker and sell it as authentic. However, since the UPC sticker thing is not mass known, it's been "on bay" for the time being. However, once it's known fully about this tidbit, I would not be surprised if people started doing this.
One posted mentioned something very interesting...one way in which it can be proved authentic is if the game was still factory sealed.
Still, to find a factory sealed SMS Sonic....WOW!!!
ShinobiMan
05-28-2009, 01:25 PM
Golden Axe Warrior = Another bitch title to find with UPC. I was lucking and I scored this for $25 complete, but last copies I've seen have gone up to around $70 as well. I feel the same way I feel about Spiderman on this one.
Golden Axe Warrior had a regular US release... it wasn't imported from Europe. Strider, Spider-Man, and Sonic The Hedgehog were the only games imported from Europe in 1991 to include a unique US upc code. GAW had a 1990 release, but was not included in the US exclusive box designs that effected Paper Boy, Castle Of Illusion, Aerial Assault, and the other 1990 SMS releases.
megasdkirby
05-28-2009, 01:41 PM
But it has a UPC sticker as well.
Golden Axe Warrior is like the other three games: with a US UPC sticker.
BetaWolf47
05-28-2009, 01:56 PM
Hmm, those Sonic games I saw in Play N Trade must've all been UK releases then. I saw Sonic, Sonic 2, and Sonic Chaos at a PnT a few months ago, but they're gone now.
megasdkirby
05-28-2009, 02:12 PM
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/1448/img0387h.th.jpg (http://img216.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0387h.jpg) http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/3540/img0389k.th.jpg (http://img219.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0389k.jpg)
ShinobiMan
05-28-2009, 02:38 PM
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/1448/img0387h.th.jpg (http://img216.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0387h.jpg) http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/3540/img0389k.th.jpg (http://img219.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0389k.jpg)
Interesting. But isn't there a version of the box unique to Europe with the multiple languages on the back? My point is, even though the US version has a UPC, the UPC is not the only thing that make it different from the European version... right?
megasdkirby
05-28-2009, 02:42 PM
Interesting. But isn't there a version of the box unique to Europe with the multiple languages on the back? My point is, even though the US version has a UPC, the UPC is not the only thing that make it different from the European version... right?
From my copy of the UK version, when I compare it to the US version, it's the only thing that is different. Just a UPC sticker, like the rest of the group. Manual is the same, cover insert...etc.
With Sonic, I would not mind a US version, but to pay $600 for a UPC sticker is kinda...wow...
BetaWolf47
05-28-2009, 02:44 PM
You would be surprised how many different regions of games are just cosmetic shifts. For a huge amount of Genesis games, if you install a region switch, you can play the Japanese version of the game by setting it to that region.
ShinobiMan
05-28-2009, 02:47 PM
From my copy of the UK version, when I compare it to the US version, it's the only thing that is different. Just a UPC sticker, like the rest of the group. Manual is the same, cover insert...etc.
This is news to me! Very cool, thanks for the info. I was only aware of the 1991 releases.
Baloo
05-28-2009, 04:23 PM
You would be surprised how many different regions of games are just cosmetic shifts. For a huge amount of Genesis games, if you install a region switch, you can play the Japanese version of the game by setting it to that region.
Yeah, I've heard Altered Beast and other games just automatically switch to Japanese with a region changer or whatnot.
grolt
05-28-2009, 04:56 PM
This is news to me! Very cool, thanks for the info. I was only aware of the 1991 releases.
Many people get confused with Golden Axe Warrior, because the manual is vertical and all English in the same format as US manuals. That and the back of the box is entirely in English. The thing is, this was standard practice for Master System RPGs released in Europe. The Euro releases for Golvellius, Miracle Warriors, SpellCaster and Phantasy Star are almost all identical to their US counterparts aside from a small "Sega of America" copyright on the bottom of the US releases. Since the games were entirely in English, there was no sense in including multiple languages, since those who couldn't speak the language could not play it.
Golden Axe Warrior never did have a Sega of America copyright printing, so therefore the sticker and thus the truth that it never had its own printing here.