POLL: Bootlegs / Reproductions: What is allowed

[pepharytheworm]

But my point either way is we aren't going to tell bars or stores to stop selling because someone later on might take advantage of someone.

I think you guy's are trying to find a middle ground between morality and capitalism which doesn't exist.

I hope I am not being lumped with a capitalistic view. My view would be the same as giving a friend a knockoff or a beer.

[Hobie-wan]

It's hard to open Megadrive carts? I've never done it but from looking at one it has two screws and it looks like it doesn't open on the label (unless the line im looking at isn't where the cart separates).

japanese mega drive, not european/US.

Right, for those that don't know, on J MD carts, the label goes over the top and covers the top seam between the front and back halves. Also the screws are underneath the rear label. So you'd have to mess up that label to get at the screws even if you just barely opened the shell at the bottom in order to slide out the board and try to not crease the label too much.

This is the best picture I could find with a quick and dirty google search. You can see the seam on the right that goes under the label.

(Yes that is a legit cart for a system that I believe was sort of like the Nintendo Play Choice system)

[Aramonde]

It's hard to open Megadrive carts? I've never done it but from looking at one it has two screws and it looks like it doesn't open on the label (unless the line im looking at isn't where the cart separates).

japanese mega drive, not european/US.

Right, for those that don't know, on J MD carts, the label goes over the top and covers the top seam between the front and back halves. Also the screws are underneath the rear label. So you'd have to mess up that label to get at the screws even if you just barely opened the shell at the bottom in order to slide out the board and try to not crease the label too much.

This is the best picture I could find with a quick and dirty google search. You can see the seam on the right that goes under the label.

(Yes that is a legit cart for a system that I believe was sort of like the Nintendo Play Choice system)

Thanks guys i forgot that JPN carts are different. But damn JPN carts look awesome.

[Onyxthecat]

Just thought for reference I would post some comparison pics incase anyone is interested. I actually do own real Mega Drive games

Raiden Trad - REAL




Alien Solder - FAKE


Comparison

[Aramonde]

That lime green color looks cool

[CRTGAMER]

@CRT - pray tell how you are going to open a Mega Drive or AES cart for inspection? They are near impossilbe to open with damaging the cart / label - buying for both of those libraries takes a lot of trust in the seller, you won't find an AES seller willing to open up their valuable cart to confirm it's original - opening it can be a thousands of dollars risk. This is why these 2 libraries are so heavily bootlegged.

At some point every game changes hands and rarely is the full provenance of that game discussed. It is entirely possible you have unknown bootlegs in your collection - a great many of us do.

The question was raised by me to the moderators - seeing the open buying and selling of games that in my opinion are dangerous to our shared hobby being bought and sold with no checks and balances. I of course am not judge and jury so the idea was to run my concern (share by some, but not all mods) by the community for feedback.

Its great to get input from everyone, glad you made this Thread. Agree some carts will be hard to open, but at least we can hope for honest sellers showing detailed pics of the items such as Onx has done above. Hopefully pointing out external bootleg differences as well.

Your statement emphasizes why place a block on bootleg sales since only honest sellers will mention when they are selling repos/bootlegs. The seller that will not be controlled are sales that are dishonest and not mention they are actually selling bootlegs, defeating the whole point of protecting the community. I also would not want to miss a chance on buying an out of print hard to find a game even if it is a bootleg; when we have opportunity with some members traveling to different countries.

Say, anyone notice the double standard concerning bootlegs? CDRs and DVDRs nobody wants, yet copied carts are okay by some. Also the CIB standard of discs versus game carts with no box or manual.

[Hobie-wan]

Say, anyone notice the double standard concerning bootlegs? CDRs and DVDRs nobody wants, yet copied carts are okay by some. Also the CIB standard of discs versus game carts with no box or manual.

Because discs are almost no effort, especially after the first. Carts require assembly and more goes into the chip making whether it's a proper mask ROM or an EEPROM.

[dedalusdedalus]

Your statement emphasizes why place a block on bootleg sales since only honest sellers will mention when they are selling repos/bootlegs. The seller that will not be controlled are sales that are dishonest and not mention they are actually selling bootlegs...

I hate to keep belaboring this point, but I feel too many people are overlooking it. Again, the concern is not dishonesty at the initial point of sale, but downstream effects.

Let's look at the two options:

a) Assume no restrictions on bootleg sales - Both the "dishonest seller" will sell his bootlegs as authentic, and the "honest seller" will sell his bootlegs as repros.

b) Assume there are restrictions on bootleg sales - The "dishonest seller" will still sell his bootlegs as authentic, but the "honest seller" will be dissuaded from offering certain bootleg items. Therefore, the number of bootlegs circulating in the secondary market has decreased, and there's a lower probability of encountering a bootleg sold as authentic in the secondary market.

The level of honesty at the initial point of sale is irrelevant to the proliferation of bootlegs on the secondary market.

[Omerta]

The level of honesty at the initial point of sale is irrelevant to the proliferation of bootlegs on the secondary market.

...and Racketboy will never be a significant pinch-point for the proliferation of bootlegs in a market that's saturated already because people don't exclusively deal here. Shady people are a dime a dozen so they'll eventually make attempts here as well. Hurray for circular arguments!

And while I'm vomiting opinions, I'd like to throw my two cents in on the "it destroys precious original games" argument. Aside from the glaring fact that it really shouldn't matter what people do with their own stuff, let's draw some parallels.

Is it okay that we allow RGB, region, CD-R and other mods? On one hand it's destroying original hardware, but on the other hand it's turning it into something more valuable that people want and is disclosed at the point of sale. Is there any similarity here to bootlegs?

Should we disallow console mod sales? Should we condemn people when they show up with a handheld PS2 project or a NES shelled piggy bank in the modding forum? After all, it is tainting hardware that could someday be scarce.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Not the best comparison. If I mod my PlayStation 2 to play imports it doesn't destroy its original functionality - that is, playing North American games. If a Gemfire is gutted to create a Just Breed that Gemfire is gone for good.