OK I'm gonna do my very best to eliminate all confusion for new Famicom collectors that want to stay away from pirates, and believe me, I've heard of a handful of people that call buying loose Famicom cartridges an iffy thing cause they don't know the difference between pirate and legit cartridges. If I'm missing anything or make any incorrect statements, please speak up.
I provided these pictures.
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a13/Oldschoolage/Cartdifferences.png)
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a13/Oldschoolage/Cartdifferencestop.jpg)
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a13/Oldschoolage/cartdifferences3.jpg)
Don't forget to look for Chinese writing.
There aren't very many pirates with Chinese writing, with the exception of the releases by Fuxhou Waixing and Shen Zhen Nanjing.
And actually, the best way to tell a pirate is by looking at the label. Legit carts always have perfectly printed labels with a game ID code (HVC-FW or similar) and a copyright, except for a few companies, like Bandai, but Bandai had uniquely molded carts, like the pic above. Pirates may have a scan of a legit label, but the quality difference is clear, with crooked trimming and often some modification to the info on the label, including the removal of copyright info. Some pirate companies tried to use ID codes, but you can quickly get familiar with them.
I've seen tons of pirates that look exactly like the Little Mermaid plastic in the first pic and even have the holes on top, so that's not always the best distinguishing feature. Granted, pirates like that are older and usually of better quality overall.
Another problem is that some pirate companies exactly molded legit carts, not only the standard Famicom cart, but particularly Taito carts. Some of them will say "Taito," some will say "Toito."
I'm very good at identifying pirates, but I get about 1 in 500 wrong.
Konami also has a distinguishing feature on the upper left side of their cartridges, they bore a hole straight through. I don't know if it can be seen too good in this picture.
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a13/Oldschoolage/100_0334.jpg)
/\ I wondered what the purpose of that hole was when I got my CV3.
This is a really good thread. This is an important thing for fledgling Famicom collectors. Shoot, I have a pretty good idea of what pirate carts look like, but every now and again, I still wonder.
Do ALL Konami carts have the hole bored through on the cartridge? I am pretty sure Castlevania Special (Dracula Kun) doesn't have this feature. I also don't think Parodius, or Salamander have this feature either.
I have seen many pirate carts on the web with the ridges at the top of the cart, and that is a dead give away to me. I'll second the label... most pirate carts don't have high quality label prints. Also, if it looks legit, but you are unsure, fire it up... I think most start screens are missing info, titles, copyright info etc.
Namcot carts don't have holes at the top of their carts, because they usually have labels on the top too.
Yeah, your guidelines seem like a pretty good rule of thumb.
I have yet to see a Konami cart that doesn't have a hole in it.
Quote from: shoggoth80 on March 12, 2009, 01:00:14 pm
I also don't think Parodius, or Salamander have this feature either.
Parodius does indeed have the hole. ;)
Quote from: shoggoth80 on March 12, 2009, 01:00:14 pm
I also don't think Parodius, or Salamander have this feature either.
If Salamander did have that hole, it would probably take away from it's awesome appearance.
Quote from: nintendodork on March 12, 2009, 02:09:03 pm
Quote from: shoggoth80 on March 12, 2009, 01:00:14 pm
I also don't think Parodius, or Salamander have this feature either.
If Salamander did have that hole, it would probably take away from it's awesome appearance.
But it does have that hole ;)
Yeah, Salamander DOES have a badass appearance. I just checked my pics... yes Dracula Kun does have the hole in the cart. I can't quite tell for Salamander... just never bothered to check for the hole there. Though I can say that the game plays great, and is pretty darn tough.
(http://i2.ebayimg.com/01/i/001/04/a9/b0c3_12.JPG)
Taken from eBay /\ -- Seems to be an obvious hole to me.
There are three types of Konami carts, from what I remember. Two small ones and the large ones, all are pictured above, I think. Some small ones are he standard Famicom cart type and the other small ones have holes -- but, some pirates also perfectly reproduce the small Konami cart complete with the hole. So, relying on the hole to tell the difference isn't the best way to do it. You've got to use a combination of things -- carts, labels, boards.
Build quality. All 4 of my multicarts feel like they'll break if I fart on them.
I think one of the best ways to tell if a game is a pirate is to look at the backside. They usually always have some weird label or the cart itself is imprinted with text. It'd be nice if you could always see the backside when buying, which isn't always available on auction sites.
Quarth is a small Konami cart with no hole on the side, just for reference. Judging by the dates, their later games didn't have the hole. Also, the labels don't expand up to the top. It's just the forward facing and back label.
Quote from: ericj on March 12, 2009, 04:46:20 pm
I think one of the best ways to tell if a game is a pirate is to look at the backside. They usually always have some weird label or the cart itself is imprinted with text. It'd be nice if you could always see the backside when buying, which isn't always available on auction sites.
One of my legit carts has a back label that says "Top Boy Famicom Shop" on it. It looks like some used game store put their label overtop the old one (you can still kinda see the standard warning label behind it).
The only Pirate I have that someone new to famicom may get confused about is my SMB2j cart that uses art similar to a real cartridge, feels more sturdy than my other pirates, and it doesn't have a glob top anywhere on the board. Of course, it has its obvious signs as well, and anyone that knows SMB2j doesn't officially exist on cart couldn't be fooled.
(http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i7/4regt4/smb2j.jpg)
Yeah, the obvious sign on that cart would be the label. All the writing doesn't have a 2 next to it. It just says "Super Mario Bros." They probably just altered a SMB label, and stuck that SMB2 graphic on it
Also the label looks like a bad photocopy, and the fact that the image itself is from a handbill advertisement for SMB2 Jp.
/\ You are right, it is slightly blurred/glossy in person as well. But most casual collectors of NES games that look over to famicom for a few choice items wouldn't know the difference (without looking up threads like this of course). My guess is that most people don't even know anything about pirate games...again, not anyone that is part of a forum like this.
Biggest problem: Nintendo never released their games in carts like that (What is that...the Namcot design?). Nintendo only used the standard Famicom cart design for retail releases.
/\ I wouldn't say that is the biggest issue as there are many different cart types even just this thread has gone over... so again, someone that didn't know any better wouldn't be suspicious over the cart, the label is in the format of a real label, and it has the sturdiness and weight of real carts of the same size (unlike my SMW that feels like an eggshell). I think the biggest issue is what was mentioned above about the quality of the label appearance (for someone unknowing to suspect anything about whether the cart is legit or not). Someone having read a thread like this would certainly suspect the cart appearance as you've noted.
Apparently it's pretty hard for pirate companies to make a quality label, because all the ones I've seen are blurry on at least one part...
i.e: My Mario 8 cart has clear font, but the sprites are blurry
Quote from: nintendodork on March 15, 2009, 12:39:00 pm
Apparently it's pretty expensive for pirate companies to make a quality label
There, fixed that for you.
Quote from: nintendodork on March 15, 2009, 12:39:00 pm
Apparently it's pretty hard for pirate companies to make a quality label, because all the ones I've seen are blurry on at least one part...
i.e: My Mario 8 cart has clear font, but the sprites are blurry
It's not that it's hard, it's more like most companies making counterfeit games don't care enough to make it look professional.
Some of them cared, but I think you're right that most didn't. Most of them wanted a quick buck. But, some of them tried to perfectly duplicate the entire cart and label. Some companies, later on, made high-quality labels that looked nothing like the original labels because they wanted them eye-catching -- holographic or what have you.
One way you can tell if a cart is legit or pirate is looking at the back label.
Some legit carts have numbers and/or letters stamped or printed on the top corners of the back label. Below is a legit cart with a double digit number stamped on the left corner and a letter stamped on the right corner. And there are also six numbers on the bottom of the label.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3419/3374844747_d4db1f98f5.jpg)
And some legit carts just have a double digit number stamped on the left corner as seen in the pic below.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3595/3375672804_f7d0c68b11.jpg)
Other legit carts have a double digit number printed on the left corner, and others have just a letter printed on the right corner. As seen in the pics below.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3455/3375676618_b2f0b1ddef.jpg)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3627/3374861701_fb51060d9d.jpg)
In the pic below is a pirate cart. Notice how there are no numbers or letter stamped or printed in the corners. Also notice other differences as the top text not being circled and there are not 6 numbers at the bottom.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3556/3374851821_77e70d12f3.jpg)
But please be advised that this is not always a 100% accurate way of telling if a cart is legit or a pirate. Below are two legit carts. The one on the left has no numbers or letters in the corners, but does have six numbers on the bottom. And the one on the right has a totally different label made by Namco with the company and console name on it.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3464/3374865825_a0e1aab7ee_o.jpg)
Also some legit carts have Family Computer written on katakana on the bottom of the back label, or the (FF) Famicom family logo.
Quote from: djdac on March 22, 2009, 06:18:58 am
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3464/3374865825_a0e1aab7ee_o.jpg)
Yup, and what's crazy is that to non Japanese speakers,"株式会社ナムコ" (Namco Manufacturing Company) would be very unobvious. Not only the console and the name is on it, but the game name as well. And that particular one is Tower of Druaga. LOL I had to say that, had I not known a little Japanese I would've passed that off as any ol' FC cartridge just cause I didn't see the front :p