When I made a post about GBA games earlier, someone warned me about fake carts and linked me a picture, I thought it looked very similar to this, can anyone give me an opinion on whether this is fake. clicky

11 years ago*

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I don't know. I remember my Fire Red cartridge not having semi-transparent plastic.

11 years ago
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Mine had.

11 years ago
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This. But since Pokemon cartridges only include the game in a single language, the cartridges might look different in every country. Mine is from Germany and it has a solid color.

11 years ago
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Mine had solid colour too.

11 years ago
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Well, they look real..
the colour of the cartridges is the same as the retail ones.

11 years ago
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Too low resolution to tell for sure. Try asking the seller for a better image if you want.
Also clicky.
EDIT: one sign to tell if the game is real that wasn't mentioned, there should be a faintly visible two-digit number pressed somewhere on a sticker. Ask the seller for a picture that includes that too.

11 years ago
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I had ruby and firered just like those. Already sold them though, so I can't compare them for small details.

11 years ago
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Image is too small to tell, but it's located in Europe, yet it uses the ESRB instead of PEGI.
It's possible the seller moved from NA, but since NA has more consumers than Europe does so it'd make sense to fake the NTSC version.

Edit: Seller is using the same image on a different auction that has multiple copies. Avoid it

11 years ago
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IIRC, none of my GBA carts had the age rating on them. If they're European, they have the CE marking on them. So yeah, those are fake.

And yeah, seeing as how the pic was stolen from someone else, it's obviously fake.

11 years ago
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ohhh <3

11 years ago
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FAKE.

See that little Gold icon above the reference codes? Real carts ALWAYS have those on different sides of the sticker.

11 years ago
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Huh? All the games I owned had the Nintendo Seal of Approval on the bottom right.

11 years ago
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I've been buying for years, and have two carts with it on the right above the reference number (A DBZ game and Harvest Moon). Considering both have those crack intros, I think it is safe to say they are fake. :P

Anyway, all official carts will have them on different sides. Not one of my official carts has them together.

11 years ago
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The reference number and Nintendo Seal of Approval have always been in the same spot for the Pokemon GBA games. Well at least in NA.

11 years ago
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Well, that explains why they are always wrong here then. They are trying to fool Americans with their products for the most part.

11 years ago
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they are fakes. i had the same problem a while ago when i bought some

11 years ago
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hmm, I think fake but I aren't sure alot of semi-transparent plastic GBA cartridge are fake, not sayin' all of them where fake thing is some pokemon games are made with semi-transparent cartridges, not all of those though. It also depends on the country where they were made

11 years ago
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It's a bit hard to tell with the size but I think the leaf green's coloring is off. Luigi mansion 2 looks like a reprint to me which makes it sound even less legit.

11 years ago
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I've been trying to get some of the GBA pokemon games for myself as I skipped the GBA and went straight to the DS. If your in Europe the games shouldn't have an ESRB rating on them as its only used in NA, the majority of the time these cartridges will be fake. If a seller on eBay or any other auction site is selling them in bundles and has a large number of them for sale they are going to be fake as well. It's better to try and buy them separately and from someone who isn't selling a bunch of them, it may be more expensive but you should always get a legitimate cartridge.

11 years ago
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OK, maybe they are fake. The seller has this listing with Chaos Black.. :/ as well as a ton more pokemon games to sell. be careful

11 years ago
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Well spotted. Be careful indeed.

11 years ago
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as far as i can tell it doesnt matter. I have once bought on ebay a gameboy advance sp game. It was not an official one but a fake. However it all worked for me.

11 years ago
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For that, it would be cheaper to run a emulator on the PC or whatever. Wouldn't you prefer to have bought the real deal? :/

11 years ago
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If you don't care the game is genuine, you're better off just buying a flashcard.

11 years ago
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In first option you should ask a seller to more photos on your mail. Also important is a details like back side of cardridge and what exacly look a Game Boy Advance Logo. Also important is that it should have a nintedo sign inside in cardridge (up of the golden sticks)

11 years ago
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I would ask, I've personally been stuck with Counterfeit GBA games before when buying from Ebay. Best thing you can do is ask, and then pay with paypal, they had my back for the counterfeit product.

11 years ago
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No i have the sapphire version and its same as the picture

11 years ago
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Looked through eBay and try considering using this seller.
Here's a list of his Pokemon games
He doesn't use stock photos, as you can tell all his photos are different, not only that but they're not the NTSC version either, has tons of legit copies of games on auction/buy it now, and has good reputation.

11 years ago
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From the picture, they look legitimate. I have the same games next to me for comparison and the labels are the same. However, that's not to say the seller isn't using a real picture to promote fake carts. It could also be that the labels are printed proper, but won't contain the code imprint in the label, which can't be seen at that resolution.

There are multiple tells for spotting a fake:

  • While not a requirement, most carts have "Nintendo" or the oval nintendo logo printed on the board just above the pins. Not being there isn't an instant tell, but warrants further scrutiny.
  • All labels have at least the Nintendo "red oval" logo. The gold seal is actually optional, as games can be approved for Nintendo systems, but not carry the approval logo. This is rare, but possible.
  • When a label does have the gold approval logo, the ink in it is actually metallic and should glitter, though older labels will fade to yellow or even the green of oxidized copper.
  • All labels will have a non-inked code physically stamped into the sticker, between 2-4 characters long, and be either numeric or alphanumeric. These are hard to see on pictures and tend to wear out of old labels, but are ALWAYS present during the life of a legitimate cart.
  • All labels will have a segmented, alpha or alphanumeric code designating its region, system, and game. For example, a USA copy of Pokemon Ruby is AGB-AXVE-USA.
  • All labels will contain the intended region's rating logo.
  • All labels are made from glossy sticker stock.
  • The front of the cartridge is embossed with "GAME BOY ADVANCE". The "advance" is smaller lettering, and the A's in "advance" are stylized with breaks in the cross.
  • The back of the cartridge is embossed with the oval Nintendo logo, the model of the casing ("MODEL NO. AGB-002" for standard sized carts), and "PAT. PEND. MADE IN JAPAN". There are claims that late age carts might have had MADE IN CHINA, but I've never heard of one sighted in the wild.
  • Both the front (under the label) and back of the cart have a round dip.
  • The cartridge is ALWAYS held by a tri-wing screw from the back.

Knowing this, fakes can be easily spotted. Producers tend to use off names, like "Nontendo" or "Game Bro Advance", miss logos, miss the front and back dips, or use any screw except a tri-wing, and almost never have the physical code imprint in the label. Beyond that, the cart might be perfect, but the rom might be wrong (a salvaged case with a USA label code that boots to an EU translation, for example).

If you're worried, I'd skip it. But if you get them, identify them. If they're fake, report to eBay and you'll usually get your issue rectified.

11 years ago
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Game Bro. I would buy

11 years ago
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Not sure about ebay's TOS because I cbf reading them, but if they turn out to be fake, you can always reverse payment/start a paypal dispute (lol).

11 years ago
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Closed 11 years ago by Tahuru.