FOOLED! Fake GBA Game

[Haz]

I'm a fan of the Castlevania series since the old NES ones but I haven't really kept up with all the GBA / DS releases over the last number of years. Last month, I found Castlevania Aria of Sorrows used at a local reputable store and thought $20 was a deal for a game I haven't seen used elsewhere. They took off $2 for no instructions so it was $18 + tax.

Bought it and have been playing it this past week. Fantastic game! Looked at the box this morning and noticed the screenshots had watermarks and the Gamespot logo on the bottom right corner! I quickly yanked the cartridge out of my SP and low and behold, "Nlntondo" on the back of the cart!

Of all my years of gaming, I've always been able to pick out fakes but I got too excited this time and didn't notice!

Bah... At least it seems to be the complete games... I'm over an hour in and I'm at 21%...

Anyone else have something similar happen?

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/1474/cvaoscartsj8.th.jpg (http://img216.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cvaoscartsj8.jpg)

http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/4019/cvaosboxfp8.th.jpg (http://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cvaosboxfp8.jpg)

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/9139/cvaosboxbackgt8.th.jpg (http://img217.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cvaosboxbackgt8.jpg)

[sfu_lifer]

I hear this is commonplace on Ebay.

[mrelusive]

Whenever I notice someone trying to trade GBA games into an EB, the clerks take aeons to inspect the thing heh.

Also note the "NOT COMP ATIBLE WITH..." on the back.

[slippy]

lol @ "Nintondo"

where did you buy it from so we can avoid this place?

[Haz]

Also note the "NOT COMP ATIBLE WITH..." on the back.Here's the actual one.

http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/258/110505856900fh3.th.jpg (http://img390.imageshack.us/my.php?image=110505856900fh3.jpg)

lol @ "Nintondo"

where did you buy it from so we can avoid this place?It was probably a trade in that the employee's didn't even notice. Can't really blame them. Might take it back to alert them but I think I'll keep it since it appears to be a complete game.

Edit: Looks like the fake one's UPC code belongs to Mario Golf GBA. (http://www.upcdatabase.com/item.asp?upc=785138320366)

[Kryz]

I've experienced this quite a few times, both with nintondo and ninfendo, the carts didnt fit properly into my GBAsp and the boxes were glossy unlike the retail nintendo versions. I would avoid them at all costs, they seem to have problems saving, I had ogre tactics and halfway through, my save file just deleted itself... Also a couple years back an RFDer was selling them and I found that 3 or 4 of them i bought off him couldnt save, the one labeled pokemon sapphire was actually another game inside.
All I can say is, check the carts before you buy them, of course GBA carts arent very popular these days anyways with the DS being Nintendo's more popular handheld, but yeah, if they don't fit properly, the box looks sketchy or there are spelling mistakes on the box/cart, beware! lol

[ElvishMerchant]

We've seen a lot of these as well, they're being sold at the Vancouver Flea Market alongside legit games, and usually work their way into EB Games since some of their employees have no clue. I once had to argue with a manager that 1/2 of their GBA selection was fake after I looked at them (they didn't believe me), but it's VERY easy to tell a fake. Look inside the bottom of the cartridge where you can see the board, and it will clearly say Nintendo on the board for any legit game, the fakes don't have this. Obviously, the crappy label/box, the screw on the back, and the Nintondo/Ninfendo are dead giveaways as well.

Out of curiosity, will you tell us where it came from? I'm curious as to which "reputable store" is essentially selling bootlegs.

[al3x89]

We've seen a lot of these as well, they're being sold at the Vancouver Flea Market alongside legit games, and usually work their way into EB Games since some of their employees have no clue. I once had to argue with a manager that 1/2 of their GBA selection was fake after I looked at them (they didn't believe me), but it's VERY easy to tell a fake. Look inside the bottom of the cartridge where you can see the board, and it will clearly say Nintendo on the board for any legit game, the fakes don't have this. Obviously, the crappy label/box, the screw on the back, and the Nintondo/Ninfendo are dead giveaways as well.

Out of curiosity, will you tell us where it came from? I'm curious as to which "reputable store" is essentially selling bootlegs.

Also I noticed that the fake cartridges are a bit lighter than the real ones.

[dude1]

i currious where to pick up a buch of these fake cartridges cheaply
instead of being duped in to thinking im getting a legit copies and paying retail type prices on ebay

[Lone_Prodigy]

Heh, I guess people are less wary about fake cartridges since they seem much harder to duplicate than fake discs.

[jonkaho]

i see fake carts at EB games all the time! they have a CE logo sometimes on the sticker.

[Toronto]

I bought some when I was in China a couple years ago. They play perfectly and save perfectly. Can't tell the difference.

[garks]

for my final fantasy dawn of souls, the save file just disappeared on me =\ i guess they used a cheap battery inside

[Acid_]

A couple of years ago I bought a few from eBay. The save stopped working on one so I threw the rest away. They're not worth it.

[ElvishMerchant]

I'm starting to see fake DS games now as well, much harder to tell the difference other than the lower quality overall and some text missing from the back (at least on the one I saw).