Any tips on spotting bootleg Saturn games?

[Double Ugly]

I've been concentrating on my Saturn collection (and probably Sega CD soon) as of late and was wondering if you guys could tell me anything that will help me avoid buying bootlegs or spotting bootlegs after I've received a game. I would really not enjoy paying $100 for a game and finding out years down the road that it is fake. Thanks a lot.

[nebrazca78]

It is highly unlikely you will run in to Saturn bootlegs. This is probably because running bootlegs on the Saturn requires a considerable amount of time, effort and a little expense too. Using the swap trick gets old quickly and can be bad for the system. Modding the Saturn can be somewhat difficult also. It requires finding a certain type of Model 2 Saturn which can be tough, buying and then installing a mod chip. In my personal experience running a modded Saturn can cause the laser to go bad. Most Saturn games are readily available anyway so it's easier just to buy a legit copy. Because of this it is extremely rare to run in to bootleg Saturn games.

Sega CD on the other hand is much different. Since it has no copy protection bootlegs are much more prevalent. The good thing is that they are almost always easy to spot. Most of them are just common CD-Rs with the name of the game hand written on them. These will never be confused with a legit copy. I have only seen a few well done bootleg Sega CD games and it is still obvious that they are bootlegs at arms length. But if you are looking at a picture of them from a bit of a distance it could be hard to tell. Realistically though they are still very uncommon and it's unlikely you will run in to any. If you have any inkling that a Sega CD game is a bootleg, just make sure to get a close up picture.

In my experience there are more bootlegs for Dreamcast floating around than for any other Sega system.

[Leo_A]

Unless I'm unaware of it's ability to play burned copies, checking a game after purchase is as easy as trying to play it on an unmodified Saturn. If it works, it's real.

Just look at pictures (Someone pirating Sega CD games probably isn't going all out to try to disguise something to look real except perhaps for a handful of the most valuable releases) and individual feedback before making a purchase. Some common sense will be enough to protect you from the unlikely event of buying something like a bootleg Saturn title.

If we were talking about GBA though, good luck. There's a healthy percentage of bootlegs out there for the more popular titles that makes it difficult making online purchases.

[Double Ugly]

Thanks a lot guys. I appreciate the help.