Repro 1st Gen Pokemon Cartridges.

>>3489360
>GAME
Fucking gay.

>>3489372

Amen to that. What gets me is people buy them on the belief they're original.

the only thing that could make this cool is removing the need for battery saves. but that price is awful and the save fix wouldn't justify that price either

This has been going on for...over a decade and a half. I don't buy by carts on eBay.

>>3489432

If these people were to be reported, is it likely eBay would take action, or are they quite leanient with this sort of thing?

I probably wouldn't be so bothered if they actually listed them at cheaper prices and made people aware they're repro, but they're deceiving the gullable, straight up.

Why do retro game collectors call bootlegs repros?

>>3489360
I'm a firm believer in a fool and his money being soon parted so I think it's great.

>>3489508
chinese= bootleg
item description in coherent english= reproduction

>>3489508
There are several local game stores that sell "reproductions". These places annoy me from price gauging, so if I were to tell Johnny Law about the bootlegging would they actually get a damaging enough fine? Or just a slap on the wrists and have to resort to keeping them behind the counter? Or just not give a fuck? Anyone try this?

>>3489565
that's a saying about reality, not something that anybody needs to be a "firm believer" in

I'm also not sure how you can tell if it's a legitimate original cart or a repro from an ebay ad so it is a problem, unless you consider buying videogames at all to be foolish, which is kinda silly if you play them and post on boards about them

>>3489575
Considering how hard the likes of the RIAA sperg over "muh copyrights" it would turn the store into an empty lot.

>>3489575
Maybe the Better Business Bureau? I honestly not sure who's responsibility it is to care about this kind of shit but it isn't the local police lol. There must be someone who's job it is to track down people selling counterfeit items in general and this probably qualifies

I am sure there are many locations where that person either doesn't exist or doesn't ever do their job though

>>3489575
Depends, if they're selling the repros at a lower price than they would the originals and they're making it clear that they're not legitimate games, then don't be a dick.

Some people collect bootleg crap for some reason, not to mention that the save battery dying is a massive pain in the ass, and a lot of these repros/bootlegs have flash memory for saves so they're arguably a better product than the original.

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>>3489372

>>3489670
>flash memory for saves so they're arguably a better product than the original.
Well, with SRAM, you can just switch out the battery, it will pretty much last forever, while flash memory can only be written a certain amount of times. Not really relevant for 8-bit games though.

>>3489717
Switching out the battery means that anything saved to it is deleted.

>>3489720
Sure, but it will continue working afterwards, while flash chips can stop working after being written too a certain amount of times. There's also tricks to keep the save file, like running an external electric current through the RAM while switching out the battery, or by simply dumping the save and writing it back to the RAM after you've switched the battery.

>>3489372
In all honesty, the reason for that is because that's the only mold widely distributed in China to make repros. (And let's be honest, they likely can't tell the difference over there.)

Recently I wanted to get a repro shell to transfer the board from my Dr. Mario cart into, because the plastic had been severely damaged. I searched Aliexpress for a while but literally all they have are the ones that say "GAME". It's fucking stupid, but I ended up having to order that. It was less than a dollar though so whatever, at least I can play Dr. Mario again.

>>3490053
I'm not bothered at all by that kinda stuff as long as the plastic is good enough. It's too bad the selection of Famicom shells seems to be so tiny. Also, I haven't been able to find a place where I can buy loose Famicom shells.

>>3489360
eBay really should start cracking down on this sort of thing. If it's a reproduction and is not clearly listed as such, buyers cannot make an informed decision. I'm sure that the sellers will play dumb and say they bought it at a flea market or whatever, but you can't sell reproductions for the same price as the original.

I don't really care about reproductions as long as they're not being made to deceive people, but they have to be priced correctly. I bought a copy of Musha on Ali Express and I only paid $10 for it, and that's generally how it goes for most reproductions on Ali Express. On eBay I wouldn't be surprised if someone would have taken that same cartridge and tried to sell it for $50 even if it was listed as a repro.

>>3490070
The plastic is really shitty honestly. It didn't want to fit in my Game Boy at first, I had to force it into the slot (which presumably squeezed or tore something because it now works). You can probably cut yourself on the seam if you try hard enough, too.

I wonder if these Pokemon repros are like that. Imagine some kid getting it and cutting himself trying to insert the game. Fucking China.

>>3490090
I bought some Famicom carts from two different sellers recently. One of them had some really brittle plastic, it hasn't broken or anything, but it feels really cheap. From some other seller, I bought a repro of Recca, and the quality feels like an original Famicom game. The first cartridge used all globtops too, while the latter was all IC-circuits.

They have been selling repro Pokemon games since it became popular in the late 90s

People buy them thinking they are genuine, then find out they dont save

Ebay try to give a shit, but dont because money

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>>3490095
This. Remember Vietnamese Crystal?

>>3490159
That was a translation made of Crystal before the official English translation. I think it was made from another pirate translation into Vietnamese.

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This seems legit.

>>3490183
oh god

>>3489360
My thoughts are it might be time to open my drawer of bootlegs and sell a few.

>>3489508
Collectors do call them bootlegs. It's bandwagon collectors that call them repros.

>>3490475
>Collectors do call them bootlegs. It's bandwagon collectors that call them repros.
Honestly it kind of depends, anything I'd call a repro has it clearly noted on the label or somewhere else that it's not legitimate, namely intent.

If they're trying to pass it off as legit, it's a bootleg, if they're making clear that it's not legit, then it's a repro.

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I wish I kept all my old copies of Pokemon. It's my favorite series and I had a habit as a kid when I got a new system I'd throw away the old generation games for no reason.

Last month I thought about buying an unopened copy of Pokemon Red just to own it but I'm not paying $700 for a fucking game.

>>3490715
Why would you buy an unopened copy of a game that has a save battery in it?

>>3490696
K. You've established that you're a bandwagon collector. They're still all bootlegs.

>>3490183
who cares. as long as it works.
you'll not find an original cart easily anyway.
and if you're not reselling it so what gives.

>>3490095
Ebay gives a shit, but started to give less of a shit when people would buy repros and then try and keep them while getting their money back. Ebay said "Fuck it" at that point because they don't want to keep an appraiser on hand for everything that has bootlegs sold of it.

>>3490715
shitty bait

>>3491585
These people are paying money for a collector's item. That's the point of it, otherwise they'd just play a rom. That's like saying a baseball card you just printed at home is the same as an original one because you can look at both of them.

I've sold a few fakes on ebay to make some money. Ebay doesnt give a shit long as you refund people when they notice.

>>3491286
K. You've established you're a cunt.

There's a difference.

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>>3490715
Wat, 700$? I just bought pokemon green when I was in tokyo this august for not even 5k yen.
Pic rel

>>3492360
Bandwagon collector sounds assmad. Always happens when the rest of the world doesn't agree with his personal definitions. Also assmad because he paid 5x the price for a bootleg because the label said repro.

>>3492423
jap games are worthless

>>3492525
Actually I agree with him.

For years there were just bootlegs, shitty copies of games that were made in Brazil or China that would occasionally find their way over to the states. It was actually kind of fun to pick up a bootleg (at least from a US standpoint) because they were often dirt cheap, worked as well as the real thing and often had a story behind them.

Then, for a short time up until just a few years ago, there were "repros" that were being made by hobbyists for hobbyists, typically of games that never came out in the US and often with an obscene price tag. These were typically very high quality and difficult to distinguish from legit carts, but most repro makers used to refuse to make copies of legit games. These repros were targeted at the established collectors at the time who were looking to add those lost games (like Seiken Densetsu 3) they never got to play to their collection without having to pick up a flash cart.

In the past 2 or 3 years repro making has gone much more mainstream (definitely driven by increasing demand/price of games) and even more recently aliexpress bootlegs have begun to flood the US market. Many of these no-name bootlegs fit the earlier description, being cheaply made and easily distinguishable from real carts. However, they're also considerably less interesting to collectors than "real" bootlegs from back in the 80's/90's because they're much more common and less unique.

So I would argue that there are 3 'schools' of bootlegs: The early ones that were printed around the time the consoles were still in circulation, the later repros that were custom made and high quality, and the new cheap shit flooding in from China.

>>3492893
Mass produced Pokemon RSE bootlegs have been around for way longer than 2 to 3 years, I remember seeing a guide about how to spot fake carts at least 6-7 years ago.

What's hilarious is after all this time it hasn't become any more or less difficult to spot bootlegs. They still use the same non-reflective labels and the fucked-up looking ESRB logo. It blows my mind that people still fall for this shit.

>>3492893
All you had to do was open one of those hobbyists carts and see the fucking rats nest of shit inside to see how high quality and difficult to distinguish it is.
Chink were making near perfect "repros" long ago. Anyone who's first console wasn't an iphone knows that.

>>3489360

>the bay

>>3489360
Kek these are sold for 5$ on AliExpress

>>3494958
bought a copy of Red Version and also Shantae from there tonight, as long as the games play normally I'm happy.

>>3494984
>they have $5 Shantaes in
Oh hell yeah. Fuckin sweet.

>>3494958
>look it up
>the seller also has trip world for 5$
brb ordering five

>>3494958
>>3494984
>>3495000
>>3495007

Do the games actually work?

>>3495043
well I fucking hope so, I just bought Survival Kids 2 and Trip World from there

>>3495007
>spending $25 on 5 copies of the same bootleg
for what purpose

>>3495043
>>3495047
According to the reviews they work, and they save too.

>>3495047

I bought Pokemon Green and Trip World. Do you think they will be able to play on a Super Gameboy?

>>3495073
Again, I fucking hope so anon, as long as it fits why shouldn't it?

>>3495081

Not sure. Just a little wary is all.

>>3495089
I am too, but my plan had been to only drop the five bucks on a game to see the quality without risking much, but then I got carried away and bought 3 more now rather than wait the extra delivery time. I've spent $20 on dumber things, even if one or two don't work I wont be too pissed

>>3495049

to sell, obviously

>>3495113

If you bought more than 3-4 games the delivery time was reduced? I actually hope that they do work since I really want to buy a couple cheap snes english ver. repros eventually.

>>3495121
>If you bought more than 3-4 games the delivery time was reduced?
No, just that i'll get several at once rather than waiting until one arrived to judge quality before ordering more. A minor gamble but the reviews sound promising. Looks to take around a month to arrive.

>>3495126
Fair enough. Best of luck with the gamble, anon.

>>3493597
>Chink were making near perfect "repros" long ago. Anyone who's first console wasn't an iphone knows that.

I've never seen a Chinese bootleg that wasn't a blatantly obvious fake. Most of them don't even get the mold of the cart right, let alone the labels which are almost always mis-sized/shaped. The newer ones get the cart shape right but have idiosyncrasies like plastic screws or blank backs, and the feel is always off. Not to mention almost every chink repro I've seen is a glop top.

>>3489506
Dunno. You would get a refund if you opened a case after you buy it. Might have to return it though.

My bootleg pokemon blue from about 15 years ago still works to this day, save is still intact.

Id buy a crystal bootleg with flash memory if it was cheaper and knew where to get one

>>3495145
>im young an inexperienced
I know.

>>3495207
>Id buy a crystal bootleg with flash memory if it was cheaper and knew where to get one
Ali-fucking-express. Literally $5.

>>3490053
Stuff I've read is that the moulds were made a few decades ago to make Chinese homemade and bootleg carts. They say Game on them to legal issues. They never intended the moulds to be used to make repros that would fool people. Back then no one cared about collecting video games, they just wanted to play the actual game and a bootleg was a cheaper way to do that.

>>3495886
Maybe if they didnt remove all flash carts and bootlegs recently

>>3496145
Bootlegs/repros are still there, but I haven't seen flash cards lately there(not that I have searched for the latter though).

>>3490053
Why didn't you just get a shitty GB game with a good shell?

>>3492423
God this is comfy to look at

Does Japan have a market for the English version games? Or are they as obscure as Japanese games here?

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>>3496386
I literally can't find any repro's on aliexpress

>>3492856
games are worthless period but the US makes a market of it.

>>3496893
There's tons of stores that specialize in repros.
https://nintendocn.aliexpress.com/store/2336305?spm=2114.10010108.100005.1.DYQbik

Thing is, you won't find anything by searching for "repro" (because what they really want to do is trick idiots into thinking their shit is legit), but if you can think of a specific game you want a repro of, search that and you might find it.

>>3497078
Holy shit, is this reliable? Have you bought any from the website or this seller? Do you happen to know if games with batteries save? Also is is that $4 off promo legit?

>>3497138
supposedly the plastic is really bad, but besides that it's just like an og game

>>3497138
I've bought a bunch of stuff of Ali express, just make sure seller has good reviews

>>3497138
Not him and never bought from that store but I've seen the stuff in the shops that presumably comes off the same production line. Sometimes there are small modifications to the game such as a save test at the beginning. Never had a problem saving.
I buy a lot on aliexpress. There are scammers to be sure but the dispute process is very reasonable. You'll likely just get your money back if there's a problem. Not sure what promo your talking about but if it's a coupon then yeah they're legit. You spend $30 and and $4 off ow whatever. I use them all the time.