Tell-Tale Signs of CD BOOTLEGS?

[lendelin]

I did a search on this but couldn't find a thread about it.

How can you tell the difference between a legit authentic CD-game and a bootleg?

I guess the most important aspect is the non-label side. The current systems have imprints on the inner circle of the CD, but I'm lost when it comes to Playstation 1 and Dreamcast games.

Dreamcast games have more than this IFPI number printed on it, but I can't tell what exactly has to be printed on a CD to make sure it's legit; even worse are the PS1 games which have just a small IFPI number, but sometimes not. (and I'm sure I bought some of the games new from reputable established stores)

It would be also interesting to know the tell-tale signs of bootlegs and authentic games for other console disc systems as well.

[Cmosfm]

The back of the disk is usually green or blue

[Gast]

Most Bootleg Games from the east don't have that purple/black PlayStation-tint.

They're very easy to distinguish, the Quality of the Label gives it away most of the time. Nearly all of the Bootlegs I've seen had a blurred LowRes-Copy of the CD-Insert on the CD.

[esquire]

The back of the disk is usually green or blue

I don't think he's referring to home made bootlegs. The PS1 bootlegs I have seen have silver backs, just like a music cd, rather than the black back which is standard on ps1 games. They usually come from Hong Kong or Malaysia, and believe it or not they are actually made on assembly lines just like a legitimate CD. My friend who works for Intel went to Malaysia a while ago and picked up 50 ps1 games for like a buck a piece. Besides being silver instead of black, you can usually tell they are bootlegs from the poor screening techniques they use for the image on top of the CD. The image is very poor and watered down compared to the original. Of course this was a few years back and I am not sure if they have improved their technique or even bother to do so.

I have never seen a DC bootleg othere than the rips/warez version you can burn yourself. Again I would look at the quality of the image on top. Also, I don't have a DC GD-Rom with me, but doesn't the bottom of the CD have a bronze/gold tint to it?

[Parodius]

www.videogameimports.com has an interesting article on counterfeit copies of Sapphire for PC Engine HERE (http://www.videogameimports.com/sw_news.php?id=22#22)

[gamergary]

Hand writing on the disc could indicate a bootleg.

[Richter]

on one of the inner rings on the underside of a DC game, the words "PRODUCED BY or UNDER LICENSE FROM SEGA ENTERPRISES LTD." (yep the 'or' was lower case) Followed by "TRADEMARK "[the Sega logo]"" (the Sega logo is inclosed in quotations)

[rbudrick]

Hand writing on the disc could indicate a bootleg.


Or it could be a SUPER-RARE PROTO!! OMMG!! RARRE!!!11!!! HTF!! OMG OMG!

-ROb

[esquire]

Hand writing on the disc could indicate a bootleg.


Or it could be a SUPER-RARE PROTO!! OMMG!! RARRE!!!11!!! HTF!! OMG OMG!

-ROb

Actually, on some systems such as the CD-i the names on the protos were hand written onto the CD. I've seen the proto for Super Mario Wacky Worlds and it was hand written onto the CD.

[lendelin]

I was referring to homemade bootlegs. Note: I have no experience whatsoever with burning CDs, and I imagined it's pretty easy to burn them and scan the original label on them. So keep in mind, you're talking to a complete idiot when it comes to burning CDs.

I wasn't concerned about the bootleg prob anymore becasue of the posts of you guys and also answers by two guys I know from a local gamestop. The prob seems to be the label side which is not easy to produce in good quality. The label seems to appear washed out, so it is easily detectable.

Well, today there was a surprise. I got a complete PS1 Darkstone from ebay for $4, I plugged it in my PS2, and it was ....AN AUDIO CD! It has 10 tracks of nice instrumental music on it, but no PS game. :) The label doesn't look bad at all, however, I can't compare it to the original. The PS logo is in black and white, and isn't not shiny like on other black and white logos of some of my other games. Honestly, I didn't notice the difference at first sight and second sight.

I checked all my recently purchased PS1 games, and everyone works just fine, and the lables seem to be ok. BUT....can I be so sure that some of the games which I bought used aren't actually burned copies?? On all of the PS1 games are merely the IFPI numbers printed on the play side of the dics, nothing else. (unlike the discs of the new gen console systems)

I expected something like this for pricey high-in-demand games and not for pretty cheap games which don't produce enough profit considering the trouble of burning them, after all, selling illegal copies is a very rational activity like burglary and has to be profitable.

Again, are there any tell-tale signs of burned PS1 copies? Did some of you encounter similar problems? ...and what in the world does "IFPI" stand for and what's the meaning of this number? :)

[goatdan]

Burned copies of games cost a company pennies to produce. If a company in China or where ever has stolen a game and is pressing it in mass quantities, they can probably press it and package it for under a quarter. Even selling them at "wholesale" for $0.50 would be a HUGE profit if they sell thousands of copies.

[tyranthraxus]

I see bootleg, pirate and counterfiet to mean different teams with regards
to media.

In terms of music collecting a bootleg is usually an audience taped
live performance or copies of old demos or otherwise commerically unavailable
material. Pirate is a copied tape or cd. And counterfiet are cds that are copies
of released albums that are made to fool people into thinking they are buying
the real thing (or allow guilty consiences to 'believe' its the real thing) with
full copies of artwork and labels.

For games I would say a prototype would take the place of bootleg. A
pirate copy is of course made at home and a counterfiet is a fake sold by
shady retailers.

Just my opinion of course :)

[lendelin]

I see bootleg, pirate and counterfiet to mean different teams with regards
to media.

In terms of music collecting a bootleg is usually an audience taped
live performance or copies of old demos or otherwise commerically unavailable
material. Pirate is a copied tape or cd. And counterfiet are cds that are copies
of released albums that are made to fool people into thinking they are buying
the real thing (or allow guilty consiences to 'believe' its the real thing) with
full copies of artwork and labels.

For games I would say a prototype would take the place of bootleg. A
pirate copy is of course made at home and a counterfiet is a fake sold by
shady retailers.

Just my opinion of course :)

Thanks for the clarification!! Well, then we are talking about counterfiets and my big concern is about them.

I'm aware that burning PS1 games is really cheap and can be easily done; but to sell a complete game you need the case, manual, insert thingies, and have to make a good label of the CD; this seems to be only worthwhile for pricey in-demand games.

Let's assume the label is done decently, the play side of the CD is nicely black, and the IFPI number is there...are there no signs to tell what differentiates a PS1 burned copy from the original? The possibility that I have well-made burned PS1 games and not the originals bothers me. It's about the irrational feeling of authenticity.

Is this a problem at all? Did you collectors encounter this problem? Am I getting paranoid and have to much time on my hands? :) The experience with the fake 'Darkstone' game made me much more concerned that I was a couple of weeks ago.