Is this GBA game a fake?

[Balou]

Fake or not fake:

I just bought Metal Slug Advance from someone on eBay and recieved it today.
It came with manual and packaging, as described. (good seller, 100% positive) However, the cartridge itself seems to be thicker than other carts, as it only barely fits into the GBA slot of my Nintendo DS.
What is more, the label on the cartridge looks a little bit blurry, like a bad print. The circuit board has some red areas on it and it does not rattle when I shake it.
The Nintendo and GameBoy Advance writtings are written correctly on the cartridge.

It is the US version of Metal Slug Advance and it is my only US cart, so I don?t know if they are generally a bit different than EU ones.
The game itself works fine so far. There is no problem with saving the game status to this point.

Still, I?m wondering if it may be a fake.
What?s also bothering me, is the fact that I need to use a bit of force to insert or take out the cartridge - I don?t want to do any damage to my relatively new DS ...

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Known indications of a possible fake GBA cartridge:
- no die-cut letters (two-digit number) on the label of the cart; the label is completely smooth
- the head of the screw on the back of the cart does have either more or less than three slots
- the PCB of the cart does not have NINTENDO written on it (put the cart upside down and look above the golden contacts)
- the manual is only a few pages thick and merely a description of the game
- slightly blurry label on the cart, manual or package
- packages, manuals or cartridges with an "RP"-rating
- cartridges with stretched or weird looking labels
- the cartridge is thicker than other carts and barely fits into the GBA-slot
- saved-games disappear, which indicates a bad battery inside the cart
- Pat number on game/instruction manual/box are not the same
- Nintendo / GameBoy Advance on the cart itself is not spelled correctly
- the cardboard is thicker and sturdier, feels smoother than usual
.
.
.
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[mt50]

well i've got a couple of us GBA games and the pcb's are both green, and you can see Nintendo written on them.

i think a pic would be good.

[SuperDanX]

Hold the cart upto the light and examine the label,if it has a series of die-cut letters and number cut into the label its genuine, if the label has a compleatley smooth surface its a fake. Also check the screw heads in the back of the cart,they should be 3 slot screw heads not 1 or 4,and lastly look into the exposed part of the cart and check that the pcb is stamped with the word NINTENDO.

[Balou]

Thanks for your help.

By "red areas" I meant that most of the pcb is green, but has some red shine to it on some parts.

I looked for the Nintendo label on the pcb. Unfortunately, there nothing written on it. My other cart of Mario vs. Donkey Kong has some numbers and Nintendo stamped on it...
There is also another difference: the Metal Slug cart has an small opening in the plastic case, roughly in the middle of the pcb.
There are no die-cut numbers on the label - it?s completely smooth.

I guess this leaves me with a fake GBA cartridge... What a dissapointment!
I think I will try to return it, reasoning that it doesn?t fit into my GBA/SP/DS/ whatever.

[mt50]

yeah, best thing would be to return it, just tell them it's fake and you want your money back. also report them to ebay/nintendo

[andrewfee]

If you paid with Paypal, set up a dispute. I did when I got sent a fake FFTA; it took a few weeks, but the seller ended up not responding (and I suspect this one wouldn't either) which meant that I got to keep the cart and got my money back. I then got rid of the cart and bought a proper one. Make sure you give full details as to why it's not a legit Game Pak.

[Balou]

I contacted the seller now and we both agreed on taking the game back and refunding my money. Everything went very polite and there was no need to threat him with punishment from eBay, or even Nintendo.
But then again, this is a privat seller and only has about 60 positive valuations.
I don?t think he sells fake GBA cartridges delibaretely, or sells GBA games in numbers at all.
I was a bit surprised by his friendliness and courtesy too.

So, I guess the lesson is that I should be even more careful when purchasing games from eBay, and not be fooled by complete packaging of GBA games.

After taking a closer look at the package and manual, and with the knowledge of it being a fake, it turns out the "manual" is only a mere eight-pages description of Metal Slug Advance - not even a health warning is in it. The package itself also has a slightly blurry look to it.
However, all this was not to be seen from the pictures displayed in the auction.

Also thanks to you, all this is now cleared up and I can start looking elsewhere to get a real copy of Metal Slug Advance (anyone selling it? ).

[dj898]

if you want JPN copy you will have to get it from on-line shops unfortunately... I myself am waiting for the price to drop on few HK online shops...

[Lyris]

Looks like a very well done fake to me, but it's not well done enough: the curved edges of the sticker are too large and rounded.

[ryodi]

http://www.simplygames.com/product.asp?id=4187

Metal Slug GBA for ?9.98.

[SuperBeatBoy]

if you really want to find out if a game or not is fake when you have it. get a torch or get in some really good light and look at the bottom end of the cartridge, it should say nintendo on the ram(whatever you call it). fake games dont have nintendo written on them.

[andrewfee]

Actually I have received a fake that has had Nintendo written inside it. The only thing I've seen that hasn't been faked yet is the imprinted two-digit number on the label.

When I used eBay for buying games, after FFTA, I asked the seller what the number on the GamePak was because I was a "collector." I also gave instructions on how/where to find it.

If they couldn't find one / didn't respond, I didn't bid. If they say anything like "box flat-packed for delivery" then it's usually a fake that just hasn't had the printed box made up yet.

[Balou]

I attached the picture from the auction in my first post.

When holding the whole package now in my hands, the most striking visible indication of it being a fake is the slightly blurred packaging and label on the cartridge. The material is different too: very smooth and sturdier than the usual (Pal?) packaging.

Edit:
Oh, and after looking at the picture again, there is another striking detail which reveals that it may be a fake... Can you say which detail it is?
1. there is a camera in the lower right corner
2. the ESRB Rating on the packaging and cartridge label are not the same
3. the colour of the table seems odd

(yes, I have been playing Phoenix Wright too much...)

[Kubrick]

It also has a "RP" (Rating Pending) logo for the age rating. Meaning the boxart was copied from a screenshot off the internet before the final game was officially released.

DEFINITELY FAKE!

[Balou]

Yes, you are right there
Quite embarassing ...