How do you tell if an AES Neo Geo cart is an MVS Conversion or not?

[Alfador]

'cause I don't want to buy an expensive cart and have it be a "fake"

[mrmark0673]

Post the picture of the cart, case and manual on the Neo-geo.com forums, you'll have an answer in minutes. If it doesn't have a manual, I'd be leary right off the bat.

[ssjlance]

Honestly, the only 100% way to tell is to open it up and look at the insides. But most of the time, they don't bother to do really nice labels or anything, so if the label looks generic or is missing, definitely be careful.

Also, the more common a game is on MVS in relation to how rare it is on an AES, the more likely it is to be a fake. For example, Metal Slug is pretty common as a conversion. It isn't too rare as an MVS title, but the AES version is nearly impossible to attain.

[madman77]

The insides will only help you somewhat, AES and MVS all used the exact same mask ROMs. Looking at the insides is really only useful for detecting bootlegs that use EPROMs or flash chips. You would be able to tell a hand solder job in most cases, which is a tip off of a conversion.

[Ze_ro]

There are also a number of NeoGeo games that were never released in AES form (Bust-A-Move, Shock Troopers, etc)... so obviously, any AES version you find would be a fake. Sometimes conversions of these games show up on eBay and sell for quite high prices, even when they're advertised as conversions.

The high price and possibility of being ripped off pretty much guarantees that I would never get hardcore into collecting AES

--Zero

[Geddon_jt]

At neo-geo.com, there is a 100% complete photo list of all released AES carts, both US and Japanese versions. Usually if there is no manual that is a sure sign, or if the insert is different from the official one. Honestly, if you really get into AES collecting, you sort of develop an "eye" for it where you can tell an unofficial/"freaked" game right away - the insert and stickers usually dont match the print quality of official releases.

[MadTitan]

Has anyone bought conversions from Neotropolis? I am working on getting all of the US / Euro release AES games but Kizuna Encounter is not going to be possible I don't think without getting a conversion.

[Alfador]

I didn't buy a conversion from Neotropolis, but they modded my Neo, which overall was a good experience.