Fake japanese gba game??HELP!

[SuperDanX]

Ok just bought mario 4 jpn gba off a uk ebay seller. Its fully boxed with manual and inserts etc but the cart label dosent have the indented code numbers on it nor is 'nintendo' visible on the pcb. It does have a 3 slot screw however. Is this geniune? The box and manual etc is of the exact qualtity of my other jp gba games and doesnt look like fakes ive seen. No pics im afraid. Help please.

[tom-nook]

I used to have the Jap version & I'm pretty sure that the cart had the words 'Nintendo' on the pcb & indented numbers on the label. Sounds like a fake to me but a very good one. Either that or you have a fake cart in the original packaging.

Most fakes I've come across have had tri-wing type screws. However, the plastic on the carts usual feels cheaper and the edges are quite often rough/ slightly angular feeling compared to normal carts which are more rounded.

[buster_broon]

how big is the manual that came with it

just a few pages or an actual wee mini book

[SuperDanX]

The manuals 10 pages full colour looks as good as my other nitendo gba games very high qualtity. Im now pretty sure its fake. Comparing it to a genuine cart i see it doesnt have 'pat pend, made in japan' on the back of the cart:-( im no mug,be warned theres some VERY high quality fakes out there. I also bough iss advance last week,same problem,diffrent seller.Again, very high quality.**** it.

[chaoticjelly]

A lot of GBA games on eBay are fakes.. or cheap imports.. unfortunately eBay allow it.

[buster_broon]

The manuals 10 pages full colour looks as good as my other nitendo gba games very high qualtity

i can honestly say there is no way a super mario manual will only be 10 pages big

most manuals are pretty sizeable and the UK yoshi's island must have 100 pages

i only have 1 Japanese GBA game (elevator action) and that manual is about 30 pages big

[importaku]

Well i can gurantee that if your manual only has 10 pages then its definately a fake as the official jpn manual has 48 pages.

Also the original is meant to come with 2 e-reader cards as shown on the back of the box.

[NeoStuey]

I also gave up buying japanese GBA titles from Ebay bought about 4 in the space of a few days thinking I had got great bargains only for them all to be bootlegs. I didn't know it at the time, it was only reading forums like this that it was pointed out how to spot them.

In the end I replaced them from various different online shop sources around the globe and ended up paying more and my entire Jap GBA collection stopped at just 14 titles.

Shame really.

[Kubrick]

Definitely fake. The genuine cart has the code stamped in the sticker.

[JazzFunk]

Just wondering - how do trade-in places such as Gamestation, CEX and GAME respond to pirate GBA carts? Are they just turned away or do they slip through the trade-in net on occasions? I've only got 3 GBA carts at prez (all originals and 'keepers') but I'm just curious.

[SuperDanX]

Thanks guys, *throws mario 4 into bin*

[tom-nook]

Why not point out to the seller that he's sold you a fake which is against ebay rules. Say you don't want to make a big deal of it as it's probably an honest mistake but you'd like to return it for a full refund.

I've had the same prob a couple of times in the past & the sellers have been fine as long as you're polite about it. Buying them on ebay isn't worth the hassle nowadays unless the seller specifically states the game is 100% genuine.

[SuperDanX]

With all due respect to you tom, **** that, i left a neg instead as frankly im fed up with pussy footing around with bad seller because everyone afraid of getting a neg,which imo make ebay feedback system next to worthless. And regardless of the fact it was fake i asked him before hand to eaither pack the game in a box or sent it flat packed. He put it in a enverlope which arrived crushed.Cu*t.

[canuhavebabies]

And regardless of the fact it was fake i asked him before hand to eaither pack the game in a box or sent it flat packed. He put it in a enverlope which arrived crushed.Cu*t.

this is another thing that pisses me off with ebay sellers!

the last gba game i got, i asked the seller to send it in a padded box, explained that i'm a collector and 100% minty condition matters. his reply was "it'll get sent in a bubble bag, none of my buyers have complained about it before"

thats cause most of your buyers will be kids or people who simply want to play the games you t**t!

the game was crushed and i had to sell it on ebay for a lot less money.

[chaoticjelly]

I always get smashed/crushed/damaged stuff off ebay.. I am trying to cut down my buying now, a lot of my negatives were because I left bad feedback for people who didnt pack their items properly.

Some people just cant comprehend that you want to keep the original box for something, or that brown tape on a system box will leave massive brown marks and rip the box..

Rest assured, whenever I send any SNES, Gameboy, N64 etc games, they always get a custom made cardboard box!