Opening an expensive Famicom cart

[coffeemud]

Hi,

I'm going to apologize for this post in advance. I'm trying to verify the authenticity of a Gimmick cartridge I picked up in 2017, and I realize there have been posts on this topic before. I have sifted through them but am still at a loss with my cartridge.

The cart I picked up has the usual fading around the edges of the label, yellowing etc. When checking the pins, only one set of pins is jumpered which based on an old thread from 2014 or so would indicate it's the actual Gimmick board.

Somehow I'm still not convinced. I have tried the quick grip method for opening cartridges on a few cheap games to little success and broken tabs, which I don't want to risk on this cart. I have seen videos where applying heat with a hair dryer can help in softening up the plastic a bit and make a cart easier to open. Has anyone tried this heat method, and would I be risking damaging the label or label adhesive?

Maybe it's not worth the risk of damaging the cart, but the not knowing really takes the fun out of having this Gimmick cart. As a side note, I've played through the game on this cart with no audio issues to speak of.

Can anyone recommend any cautious methods for opening this cart, or has anyone tried opening a Gimmick cart before?

Coffeemud

[Skawo]

Unfortunately Famicom carts just aren't designed to be opened and there's no failsafe method you can use. Personally I've had some success with heavily squeezing the cart, but it's not a guarantee, and you might leave marks on it anyway.

If the Gimmick cart audio is good, it's 99.999999999999% certain to be real, though.

[Ankos]

Maybe you could try shining a light into the plastic to make it translucent enough to see the outline of the board? I used that method for a game once, but it came in a much lighter colored shell, so it might not work so good for a Gimmick cart

[portnoyd]

Sadly with Gimmick, as is other Sunsoft carts, there aren't helpful imprints/markings that other carts have that indicate that the cart is real.

I would leave it as is and mark it as real. Everything you stated (pins, label, audio) are very solid evidence it is real. The label alone is enough imo, that shit tasting label quality is (unfortunately) unique. That you checked the pins and audio should cement it.

And I say this as a person who spent literal hours analyzing pictures of a copy of Recca before buying it!

[coffeemud]

I appreciate the advice. I think I'll be leaving the cart alone for now, it's just too much of a risk. More than likely, it's real anyways. Thanks!