Hey guys, I'm new here and was wondering why there is so much talk and sales of pirate/bootleg games? In most gaming/collecting circles they are frowned on, but here it seems some people collect them exclusively. So what's the deal?
Nintendo's Famicom is the #1 most pirated system so it's kinda a hard blemish to just pass up. Most pirates are just boring multicarts, but there are a lot of jewels out there to collect. Colorful cartridges with hilariously bad label art, custom pirate games that you'd never find elsewhere, etc. Another thing that sparks peoples interest, is that a lot of these carts can be rare. Since there are so many different pirate companies in so many different countries, you can sometimes get some neat stuff that nobody else would ever have!
My personal favorites are pirate ports from much more powerful consoles.
Here's a few 16-bit games butchered to run on 8 bit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDX6cBz8cl4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLm_cnb-Lu0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Anz5ZqlSBJ8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb7a-DBSSB4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSJXfGQgMRQ
Those are the ones I like to collect the best.
I would have to agree with MS-Dos4, also sometimes finding a pirated copy of a game can be a million times easier then finding an official one.
For example, a original copy of Recca can be like $100, you can get a pirated copy for like $25-35.
Besides, occasionally a really cool sprite hack will exist of a certain game and you just have to get it or a porting of a game from another console that now exists on Famicom because of piraters.
This question seems to pop up from time to time, and MS-DOS4 pretty much summed it all up. Famicom pirates are so common, yet some of them are so rare and outright bizarre that it's one of the most interesting bits of the Famicom collecting experience.
Bootleg games for other systems are so dull and boring with very few exceptions, which is not the case for Famicom, so I can see why people wonder why are we so obsessed with pirated games. :P
;D I forgot to mention that like 4/5ths of my Famicom collection is pirated.
Kind of sad to think about actually.
Speaking of pirates, I just bought one about 10 seconds ago. Jee pirates sure are great.
In some places, pirated Famicoms & their games are relied upon.
Quote from: Jedi QuestMaster on March 21, 2010, 11:27:22 pm
In some places, pirated Famicoms & their games are relied upon.
Exactly, I basically take what I can get.
Like I just bought "
New Ghost Busters 2" from MWK for $15 but its pirated.
Also I am still waiting for it to arrive in the mail...
Quote from: The Uninvited Gremlin on March 22, 2010, 08:30:50 am
Quote from: Jedi QuestMaster on March 21, 2010, 11:27:22 pm
In some places, pirated Famicoms & their games are relied upon.
Exactly, I basically take what I can get.
Like I just bought "New Ghost Busters 2" from MWK for $15 but its pirated.
Also I am still waiting for it to arrive in the mail...
I am still waiting for my MWK order too. It's been 11 days so it should be arriving shortly!
Quote from: MS-DOS4 on March 22, 2010, 09:25:17 am
Quote from: The Uninvited Gremlin on March 22, 2010, 08:30:50 am
Quote from: Jedi QuestMaster on March 21, 2010, 11:27:22 pm
In some places, pirated Famicoms & their games are relied upon.
Exactly, I basically take what I can get.
Like I just bought "New Ghost Busters 2" from MWK for $15 but its pirated.
Also I am still waiting for it to arrive in the mail...
I am still waiting for my MWK order too. It's been 11 days so it should be arriving shortly!
Really? 11 days for me also, we must have paid the same day or something. Lol.
Thanks for all the replies guys. I will say that there sure are a ton of pirate carts floating around. I had to do some research on how to spot them since they're so common on ebay and I'm only looking to pickup originals.
I meant only original Japanese release games.
Quote from: The Chief on March 22, 2010, 02:49:54 pm
I meant only original Japanese release games.
Thats a bit saddening, because some famicom games will run you a bit to high, when you could pay substantially less for a pirate. Like every single game has a pirate equal.
Quote from: The Uninvited Gremlin on March 22, 2010, 03:56:13 pm
Quote from: The Chief on March 22, 2010, 02:49:54 pm
I meant only original Japanese release games.
Thats a bit saddening, because some famicom games will run you a bit to high, when you could pay substantially less for a pirate. Like every single game has a pirate equal.
Really, I bought a famicom pirate that was 30 when I could have bought the same one for 13 on a real cartridge. :D
Which game?
Monsters in my Pocket. I bought it from that guy on ebay who always has neat pirates at ridiculously overpriced prices.
Quote from: The Uninvited Gremlin on March 22, 2010, 03:56:13 pm
Quote from: The Chief on March 22, 2010, 02:49:54 pm
I meant only original Japanese release games.
Thats a bit saddening, because some famicom games will run you a bit to high, when you could pay substantially less for a pirate. Like every single game has a pirate equal.
I don't mind paying the going rate for official Nintendo product. Like the old saying says, you get what you pay for. Maybe some of the pirate carts use circuit boards from saced carts, I'm not sure, but pirate carts defiantly aren't up to the quality standards of the originals.
To me, Famicom pirates are merely novelty games. I'd hands down go with the real cart if I can whenever possible, but I also have some pirates in addition to the real versions because of the differences. There are only three pirates I can think of that I really, really would like to own:
Super Mario World pirate (full version) - PowerPak won't play it.
Recca Pirate - Yes, I could get an NES Reproduction, but I'd rather have a Famicom pirate.
Rockman 1-6 Multicart - I've heard that this exists. I wish I could find one.
My favorite pirate I own is a Rockman 6 pirate, and not just because I'm Famicom World's resident Megaman nut. It's Megaman 6 - one of the most complex Nintendo games reduced to two globtops, its title screen erroneously reads Rockman 7 and its cartridge label features artwork and the bosses from Rockman 5. Anything about it is just wrong!
Here's a picture:
(http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/886/dsc00677cr.jpg)
I got mine from this guy: http://myworld.ebay.com/progressive%21%21/
Maybe you can coax him into finding you another one?