How to identify pirates

[Toneman]

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.

[Blue Protoman]

Don't forget to look for Chinese writing.

[JC]

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.

[Toneman]

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.

[Medisinyl]

/\   I wondered what the purpose of that hole was when I got my CV3. 

[shoggoth80]

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.

[nintendodork]

Namcot carts don't have holes at the top of their carts, because they usually have labels on the top too.

[Tupin]

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.

[vgthing]

I also don't think Parodius, or Salamander have this feature either.

Parodius does indeed have the hole. 

[nintendodork]

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.

[Medisinyl]

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 

[shoggoth80]

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.

[Medisinyl]

Taken from eBay /\   -- Seems to be an obvious hole to me.

[JC]

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.

[Blue Protoman]

Build quality.  All 4 of my multicarts feel like they'll break if I fart on them.