HELP!!!??? Possible Fake Pokemon Gameboy Advance games?

[Classics19]

Hey Everyone,

I'm new to "Retro Roundtable" so first I'll start off by saying Hello, and I look forward to talking with everyone :). I needed everyone's help to determine weather the games I purchased on Ebay were fake. I saw all 5 Pokemon Gameboy Advance games for $15.00 and it was an impulse buy as the auction was ending in 2 minutes. So I won the auction, when I received the games they look real (all except Pokemon Leaf Green). I tried doing my research online but everyone has something that looks different from what I have. They don't have the "Nintendo" logo inside the cartridge and the serial numbers on the back are all the same, they read "AGB-004". I did open a case against the seller but I also notice the seller had an 86.1% positive feedback which a few people complained that they were fake games. I did also get in touch with the seller and he was willing to give me a refund but the seller wants me to pay return shipping (which is the messed up part). I wanted to know if anyone can help confirm that these are fake and this way I have reassurance that I'm not opening a false case.

Thanks in advance everyone!,
- R.

P.S.- I attached a photo so you can see what they look like.
5359

[wiggyx]

Hey Everyone,

I'm new to "Retro Roundtable" so first I'll start off by saying Hello, and I look forward to talking with everyone :). I needed everyone's help to determine weather the games I purchased on Ebay were fake. I saw all 5 Pokemon Gameboy Advance games for $15.00 and it was an impulse buy as the auction was ending in 2 minutes. So I won the auction, when I received the games they look real (all except Pokemon Leaf Green). I tried doing my research online but everyone has something that looks different from what I have. They don't have the "Nintendo" logo inside the cartridge and the serial numbers on the back are all the same, they read "AGB-004". I did open a case against the seller but I also notice the seller had an 86.1% positive feedback which a few people complained that they were fake games. I did also get in touch with the seller and he was willing to give me a refund but the seller wants me to pay return shipping (which is the messed up part). I wanted to know if anyone can help confirm that these are fake and this way I have reassurance that I'm not opening a false case.

Thanks in advance everyone!,
- R.

P.S.- I attached a photo so you can see what they look like.
5359

Fake

Fake

All of those labels should have metallic ink in them, and it appears that none of them do in that pic.

Tell him to fuck himself and file a paypal claim and let paypal/eBay know that he's selling bootleg games. Not that they'll give a shit, because I assume this assclown is in China/Hong Kong, right?

[Classics19]

Fake

Fake

All of those labels should have metallic ink in them, and it appears that none of them do in that pic.

Tell him to fuck himself and file a paypal claim and let paypal/eBay know that he's selling bootleg games. Not that they'll give a shit, because I assume this assclown is in China/Hong Kong, right?


Yeah, he's from China. He stated they were real and were made in China.

[Esquire Fox]

From my experience, any games sold in China and Hong Kong are typically fake. I have old games my father would bring back from his business trips to Hong Kong and they were always the odd ones out in my small collection of games growing up. It wasn't until I got a copy of a game called "Pokemon Jade Version" that it became obvious that all the games were fake.

All of those games have a ESRB rating on them, so they would have to be English localization.

Leaf Green doesn't even have Version in the title.
Fire Red is the wrong color cartridge and the label is entirely wrong.
Ruby and Sapphire are both supposed to have "The Pokemon Company" in the top right corner.
The Emerald copy looks very close to the real thing, but the colors on the label are slightly wrong.

I agree with wiggyx. Demand a refund, and file a claim if the seller refuses.
Either way, you should report this to eBay.

[wiggyx]

Yeah, he's from China. He stated they were real and were made in China.

In the future, just don't buy games from China. About 99.99% of the time they're bootleg.

[theclaw]

China releases would never get ESRB ratings, the organization has no authority there. English logos in most cases are suspect also. Game companies generally translate game titles to Chinese characters.

It's true Nintendo localized some GBA and DS games for China. None of them were Pokemon.

[InsaneDavid]

They don't have the "Nintendo" logo inside the cartridge...

Right there is your dead giveaway. You should be able to look inside the cartridge at the bottom where the connectors are and see the Nintendo logo screened onto the circuit board.

[djshok]

Yeah, he's from China. He stated they were real and were made in China.

All pokemon games from China are fakes. Or 99% of them are. Maybe if you tried really hard you could find a genuine one, but you'd be hard pressed to do so.

[Gameguy]

They're all fakes. Still $15 for 5 games isn't bad for bootlegs, some people collect them.

[Emperor Megas]

They're all fakes. Still $15 for 5 games isn't bad for bootlegs, some people collect them.I agree. If they're of decent quality that's a very good deal, IMO. Even if they aren't it's a good deal I think.

[Vectorman0]

Right there is your dead giveaway. You should be able to look inside the cartridge at the bottom where the connectors are and see the Nintendo logo screened onto the circuit board.

Even with a logo, there is no guarantee. There are now bootlegs with more convincing PCB's. See my picture here:

5360

While the bootleg on the right may be newly manufactured and look to be of higher quality, it was still basically DOA. It wouldn't keep a save file without corrupting after saving a few times.

[wiggyx]

They're all fakes. Still $15 for 5 games isn't bad for bootlegs, some people collect them.


I agree. If they're of decent quality that's a very good deal, IMO. Even if they aren't it's a good deal I think.

The problem is that they don't work. Even if they do, it's not for very long and they almost never actually save your game.


Even with a logo, there is no guarantee. There are now bootlegs with more convincing PCB's. See my picture here:

5360

While the bootleg on the right may be newly manufactured and look to be of higher quality, it was still basically DOA. It wouldn't keep a save file without corrupting after saving a few times.


Nothing about that is convincing though. Sure, it says Nintendo, but the label is all wrong, which means you needn't even bother popping the stupid thing open in the 1st place.

Still, I guess it's good to know that they're putting that there now. Just one more thing to look out for.


Luckily I couldn't care less about the Pokemans, so I'll never get stuck with one of these sorry-ass carts.

[Esquire Fox]

Luckily I couldn't care less about the Pokemans, so I'll never get stuck with one of these sorry-ass carts.

They can be very lucrative if you resell on Amazon or eBay. Most of them go for $20 or more and sell very quickly regardless of condition. Reselling can keep your collecting hobby from cutting too much into your savings. So knowing what a fake Pokemon cart looks like is very useful when you're out hunting for games, especially at flea markets.

[Gameguy]

The problem is that they don't work. Even if they do, it's not for very long and they almost never actually save your game.
I actually came across a bootleg Firered cart like the one pictured above, it worked and saved fine while I had it. They stop saving when the cheap batteries die, those can be replaced if someone wants to do that. With older console bootlegs from the 90's most games don't save because they didn't bother to make the carts capable of saving, it's not just a dead battery or something else that's fixable.

[wingzrow]

I've only bought two games from Chinese sellers over the years, The first of which was Chrono Trigger DS, which was remarkably, not fake.

And then the second was a fake pokemon platinum version.

After that I never took a chance ever again and stuck to american, ans sometimes japanese, sellers.

[Gameguy]

I've only ended up with bootlegs when they were included in larger lots, except for multicarts. I try to avoid the bootlegs myself, most are worthless but for some reason there are some people who collect them and more people collect the weird Pokemon bootlegs compared to other random bootlegs of various games. The weird hacks are more desirable than just plain direct bootleg copies but everything is wanted by some collector.

I had some bootleg of Pokemon Gold, I think it saved fine but it was some weird translation in broken Engrish. The person who bought it was really happy as she was apparently looking for a copy of this translation hack for a few years. I think this was translated before it was officially released outside of Japan. I'm not into Pokemon that much but at least someone was happy with this.

[Esquire Fox]

There is actually one Pokemon bootleg I am looking to get my hands on. Someone in China decided it would be a good idea to pirate Pokemon Yellow to the Famicom. That must be a horrible port right? Actually, no. It is quite amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haXF_CgMtEY

I don't know if trading acknowledged bootlegs is against the rules on this forum (I believe I must have been a member for a week to access the selling forum, so I can't read the sticky rules there yet). If it isn't, I'd love to buy a copy of that particular cartridge if anyone has it.

[theclaw]

These communities tend to categorize bootlegs. Repros, professionally manufactured pirates, and regular joe copies, are very different.

[SparTonberry]

serial numbers on the back are all the same, they read "AGB-004".
All legit GBA games (except for those with rumble/tilt/sun sensors) read AGB-002.

Apparently AGB-004 is the code number for a Japanese-only original GBA rechargable battery/charger set (and AGB-003 is the battery itself).

[wiggyx]

They can be very lucrative if you resell on Amazon or eBay. Most of them go for $20 or more and sell very quickly regardless of condition. Reselling can keep your collecting hobby from cutting too much into your savings. So knowing what a fake Pokemon cart looks like is very useful when you're out hunting for games, especially at flea markets.

Meh, 20 bucks minus whatever I bought it for MINUS ebay/paypal fees = not worth it for me. If I'm going to resell anything, I need to make 100+ to give a crap.


I actually came across a bootleg Firered cart like the one pictured above, it worked and saved fine while I had it. They stop saving when the cheap batteries die, those can be replaced if someone wants to do that. With older console bootlegs from the 90's most games don't save because they didn't bother to make the carts capable of saving, it's not just a dead battery or something else that's fixable.

Man, you got lucky then. I've heard so many horror stories, not to mention my neighbors who've bought many bootleg Pokemans games in the last 6 months that have all been total shite. Some save, but then the file corrupts, others don't save and all, and some just run out of data once you hit a certain point in the game.

[mailman187666]

There was a guy for a couple years who was selling CIB GBA bootlegs at a local flea market I go to. I bought a fire emblem game off him but after further inspection I found that

1. The box art looked a little fuzzy, like a bad print.
2. The box itself was slighlty larger than any other GBA box
3. The folds in the box were different
4. All CIB GBA games were $8 a piece (ones that would normally cost $20+)

The only bootlegs that are would be worthwhile to me are the 128 in 1 carts.

some of the box art for the games he had for sale weren't even the right pics, and also for the ESRB rating, some would have "RP" (rating pending) on them. Not a very good bootleg.

[theclaw]

Meh, 20 bucks minus whatever I bought it for MINUS ebay/paypal fees = not worth it for me. If I'm going to resell anything, I need to make 100+ to give a crap.

That's why you buy in bulk. 5 bucks here and there to turn into 100s.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

It's too late now, but I did create this video on how to spot fake GBA games:


http://youtu.be/8fKOW5B2yxw

[wiggyx]

That's why you buy in bulk. 5 bucks here and there to turn into 100s.



You've missed my point. I need to make 100+ PER TRANSACTION in order for it to be worth it to me. Buying lots and breaking them up is the absolute last thing that I ever want to do. All the taking pics, writing up descriptions, answering questions, packing items up, taking them to the post office takes tons of time. I've done the math, and it's simply not worth MY time to do all that crap :(

[The 1 2 P]

If I was just quickly glancing at those I might have thought they were real too. I grab Pokemon games when ever I see them because they are really easy money. They kind of remind me of Final Fantasy 7 a few years ago. Despite there being millions of copies of each out there people will still pay $20-$30 for each one....used.

[Vectorman0]

Nothing about that is convincing though. Sure, it says Nintendo, but the label is all wrong, which means you needn't even bother popping the stupid thing open in the 1st place.

To you or me it may be pretty obvious, but to 95% of the people buying these (and a good fraction of those reselling them), it's not.