What are your tips for spotting fakes?

[desocietas]

Hey all,

Just came across a reprint at GameStop. Found a cheap copy of Bomberman Land Touch but didn't take a good look at it until I got home. The first thing that tipped me off was the poorly printed manual (text was blurry and at some points looked like it needed 3-D glasses for full effect). The sticker looked kinda filmy, too, and off.

The more I looked at it, the more I became suspect, so I started looking up the tells for a fake DS cart.  Thought it was pretty interesting, and I'll definitely be looking closer from now on before buying. Some things that definitely were indicators on the fake cart:

- the font for the serial number on the sticker was a generic font. I've come to know the Nintendo DS font well, and it definitely looked off.
- the Nintendo seal on the back of the cart has an actual ® where the legitimate carts have a dot only

There were other telltale things, such as the top of the cart looking too smooth, the general pixelization of all the images, and the lack of serial number stamped on the back. Unfortunately, we'll be returning the game, but just made me wonder: what are the things you immediately check for when looking for a legitimate game? What can you look for in eBay listing photos that help?

[hexen]

Wow, that's interesting to find. That is not the kind of game I would expect fakes of to circulate. For the most part, I find fakes usually pretty obvious, but I've seen so few while out and about. I usually only inspect games closely when they are games that are common to fake (E.G. the GBA Pokemon games), and even then the ones I've seen are the more obvious ones, and not the more sophisticated ones you'll see in guides on how to avoid them. Most fakes of any description tend to have blurry text and covers that have the wrong level of gloss, it seems, so that is probably the best place to start. Also helps to compare a picture of a legit game because numbers and seals of quality on applicable games are also often wrongly placed.

[matimo]

Yeah it'd pretty hard to tell with Ds carts without actually opening them up (which isnt an option). All i would suggest is just looking at the lable and check it's quality as you mention, that and font are normally the biggest tells when looking for a fake DS cart.

Oh also this doesn't work all the time but typically the fakes have trouble being recognize by the systems when you put them in.

[redblaze57]

The ESRB label is the easiest tell. With my experience they never get the letter for the age rating right it's mostly either too bold or too skinny.

[guilty0fbeing]

I buy a lot of retro carts, so I have my tools to open each game when I get them in. I also will typically ask if it's a repro and make sure they know I have the tools to find out.

[burningdoom]

GBA is the worst with this. It's hard to tell if you got a fake or not. And there's so many of them with GBA.

I'm glad I got most of my GBA games before this was a huge problem.

[sworddude]

Wow, that's interesting to find. That is not the kind of game I would expect fakes of to circulate.

Back in the DS console's hay day many fakes were made with packaging etc. Some where even sold in legitimate stores. Especially USA ones wich are also being sold in europe.

Not to uncommon for unvaluable or uncommon not to valubale titles to be fake, they are definitly out there but in general these are old fakes.

New fakes are usually only for valuable fast selling titles.

I suspect that this is an old fake of the Ds era when non nintendo companies tried to profit from the sales of ds games with cheap knock offs.

[desocietas]

I suspect that this is an old fake of the Ds era when non nintendo companies tried to profit from the sales of ds games with cheap knock offs.

I could see that happening. My BF recalls the games being traded in and another cheap one, one of the Cooking Mama games, was a really obvious knock-off, so they refused to take it. This one could fool folks easily enough if they're not looking, especially since the game itself seems to play fine in my phat DS. Wouldn't be surprised if these were made back a while ago to make easy money (and for games aimed at kids, who cares if they're legit or not as long as they work).

But yeah, like others have said, I don't even think of checking for fake carts when it's not Pokemon or some other high-demand item. But I'll be more scrutinizing from now on

[shepard11]

I always carry my copy of Imagine: Babyz Fashion (yes I own this game) when I go game hunting and usually compare the back to any used DS game I buy. I've spotted a few fakes doing that. But the looks i get when I pull that game out.

[desocietas]

I always carry my copy of Imagine: Babyz Fashion (yes I own this game) when I go game hunting and usually compare the back to any used DS game I buy. I've spotted a few fakes doing that. But the looks i get when I pull that game out.

Haha, that's great. There's nothing better than the real thing to compare to. Pictures on the internet only do so much.

[telly]

That's a good tip, shepard! It might even be worth it to bring in a couple legit DS carts that look different on the back so you can cover every variation (the gold versus black lettering under the item number, for example).

[shepard11]

It's probably a better fate for that game than rot in some random gamestop for $1. Plus it's a fun conversation piece at your local haunt and/or game expo.

[scoobs22]

Yes there are a lot of GBA fakes, but it's actually really easy to tell if you have the cart in front of you. Virtually all official carts have a number stamped lightly into the front label. I've never seen a fake that has this.

GBA is the worst with this. It's hard to tell if you got a fake or not. And there's so many of them with GBA.

I'm glad I got most of my GBA games before this was a huge problem.

[rayne315]

things I look for when buying a ds game are:
1). how well centered the label is, most fakes are off center.
2). how glossy the label is, if it is not glossy it is fake.
3). look at the Nintendo/patent pending (back of cart), authentic ones are barely recessed into the plastic, there is always a space between PAT. and PEND. some fakes recess the words too far, use different font, remove spaces, etc.
4). look at the contacts. I cant explain it well but I have run across fakes with wrong contacts (wrong material which can be seen while turning it in the light if you know what your looking for), some of them also have green at the bottom of the contacts (it should be a brown)
5). above the contacts. all you should see above the contacts is green with white lettering in various contact holes. some fakes don't have the white lettering and some fakes you can see the lines running away from the contacts
6). there is a small dot in the upper right hand corner of the back of legit carts. few fakes I have seen put this in.

[fazerco]

GBA was easy, most fake games where USA version's.