SirGawain wrote:Im a fan of repros if the game was never released outside of Japan and someone translated it, or like others have said, if the original game is so rare that the price is outrageous. The only problem I would have with them is if someone was passing off a repro of something like Hagane as original. As long as it is stated up front that it is a repro, I could care less.
There's a problem with making a repro of an expensive game, it can always be passed off as authentic. Let's say there's a SNES game that goes for $200 typically. Some one makes a repro of it, with a label clearly marked as such, and sells it to me for $50. What's to stop me from just making a new label and then selling it off for $200? Nothing. There's nothing you can do to stop that, short of making custom boards in custom cases (like Retro Zone does).
I'm a fan of "repro" carts only when there's no donor cart used, the game wasn't released outside of Japan and/or Europe, and they're made in a nondestructive way. Sure, I could still buy a Secret of Mana 2 repro and throw it up on eBay as some super rare prototype of the English version that was never released. But really, all it takes is Google and 5 seconds to find out that it's not legit. In that case, I don't feel sorry for the buyer because they didn't do any research before buying something.
The only way I'm cool with repros these days is if a fan-translation is applied to the cart of the actual game. For example, taking a Seiken Densetsu 3 SFC cart and putting the Secret of Mana 2 English translation on it. Or taking a Final Fantasy V SFC cart and putting the FF5 English translation on it. In this case, they're not "repros". They're legit carts that were modified so that the game is in a different language than it original was. And in this case, I wouldn't be concerned about any copyright holder backlash.
The game has to remain in it's original SFC cart shell. Putting it inside an NTSC-U SNES shell means you're messing with another game. Also, the cart has to be made so that it can be restored to stock if wanted or need be. No cutting out mask ROMs, etc. This is what I mean by nondestructive.
But it can only be a game that wasn't released outside of Japan or Europe. You might say, well why can't I take a Mother 2 cart and modify it to be Earthbound. Well, you can, but what's to stop you or the buyer from putting it in an NTSC-U SNES cart shell and trying to pass it off as a legit Earthbound cart? Nothing.
"But I want it in an North American SNES shell so it'll match the rest of my carts?" So you don't mind the destruction of other games to get what you want? Also, wouldn't you rather have the official, legit cart? Bootlegs have no value, even when they look real nice.
Hacks, mods, unreleased games... This is why we have
FLASH CARTS!!!!
http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 44&t=36353
They can all be played on flash carts, with the rare exception. If you really want a hack or a mod of a game on a cart, then make it from scratch!
Fan-translations can also be played on flash carts, and since they're easily available these days I really don't see much of a need for repros anymore.
No one should ever make a "repro" cart of a game just because it's too expensive. Like Earthbound. If you don't want to pay the going price of a game, then get a flash cart to play it on.
