POLL: Bootlegs / Reproductions: What is allowed

[ZeroAX]

Bootleg auction on ebay:



I'll be honest, it got me interested

[Onyxthecat]

So should I put my games back up for sale?

[Kelekin]

I said it in the first thread and I'll say it in this one: I have no issue with reproduction carts of games that never came out here. If the came out here, sorry, just play a damn ROM. That type of bootleg actually directly affects a marketplace. However, if the game doesn't exist in our language, it's not going to step on anyone's toes to have a translated version because you aren't affecting the company's bottom line (and this is how I feel about usage of intellectual property in general - if something doesn't hurt the company or take sales away, who cares?).

That being said, I'm pretty sick of seeing bootleg Pokemon for sale in these marketplaces. Bootleg Pokemon in general, really...

[oxymoron]

That type of bootleg actually directly affects a marketplace.

I don't really understand how this is bad. If anything they will make games cheaper. Isn't that a good thing? People are constantly complaining that games are inflated and too expensive.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Would bootlegs really keep costs down?

Remakes, ports, and emulation don't do a tremendous amount to drive down prices.

In fact I can see the opposite happening with boots.

"Pay a premium for my real EarthBound."

[MrPopo]

That type of bootleg actually directly affects a marketplace.

I don't really understand how this is bad. If anything they will make games cheaper. Isn't that a good thing? People are constantly complaining that games are inflated and too expensive.

People want games to be cheaper and to be original. And they don't want to have to pay the price in time (waiting until you can find a deal).

[oxymoron]

Ikaruga (Gamecube)

Even though it was not especially rare (and having a Japanese Dreamcast release), collectors were hoping that Ikaruga would follow the footsteps of it’s predecessor, Radiant Silvergun and its values of $200 to $300. However, once the XBLA version was announced, the disc-based version of the game has been in a constant decline and has headed below the $30 mark.

I was thinking in the manner that people who drive up prices (ebayers or in poor taste, "noobs") would opt for a repro and sellers would have no choice but to lower prices. If there is more supply than demand then prices will fall, right? I'm not too great with economics. Although I see where you're coming from.

[dsheinem]

I think a lot of folks see cheap repros of pricey games as a threat to their own costly investment in an original, and thus have some disdain for them in that regard.

[TEKTORO]

I never looked too deep into the subject besides my own taste, I don't condone or support piracy bootlegs and rather obtain actual authentic items which I would value more. I have however bought knowingly 3 games that fall into this category Reproductions of NWC 1990 & Pirates Booty from retro zone who clearly advertises what your getting and Homebrew/hack Oh No More ZAMN and I justified those purchases as non harmful to the industry.

I'm guessing there is a fine line between what could be considered okay such as homebrew, repros of sorts, but anything with a possible backlash should best be avoided.

[mjmjr25]

I think a lot of folks see cheap repros of pricey games as a threat to their own costly investment in an original, and thus have some disdain for them in that regard.

Really simplistic view. It's the whole omelette, not just an egg.

It's having to take such care to buy pricier original games. Ebay is almost all but out of question (good luck getting a seller to open up a cart). Amazon is definitely out of the question with their stock photos. We'd hope the forums would be a safe haven, but apparently not. This makes it increasingly more difficult to find them.

How about selling them - the opposite, people already assume it might be a fake, so now you have to go to more work to sell it and deal with tirekickers. We've seen plenty of auctions go for way under what they'd normally go for because of skepticism of whether it's legit or not - as I posted a few days ago, search MUSHA completeds, one did $63, one did $400 - no doubt related to concerns about authenticity. I made a post on here a couple years back where I sold a pricier game, the buyer claimed it was a bootleg, filed a claim, sent it back per ebay resolution, and sure enough, sent me back their bootleg and kept my original.

If there was no chance of confusing it with an original - to me, there is no problem, but when it isn't clearly distinguishable, the reality is even those of us who pay particular attention are going to get fooled and it may not come back to us until we go to sell it and get labeled a scammer trying to pass it off, or maybe when we're playing it and the thing doesn't load up due to a crap solder job or cheap rom.

Etc, etc. After all these pages I haven't seen a legitimate reason to be bootlegging games released in this country other than, "it's cheaper." Can anyone do better than that? Guarantee me it can't be mistaken as original down the line and i'll gladly pipe down. Until then, this is an issue and honestly, a bit of an embarrassment that we as a community would support it.