Game Gear fake CIB games?

[atariagerocks]

I bought a lot of 2 CIB Game Gear games on eBay from a seller in Japan with near-perfect feedback and no complaints there about authenticity.  The price was below market and interaction with the seller was a little weird and disingenuous.  After delivery I found that all components of the games are in amazing condition, in fact they seem impossibly mint except under very close inspection.  Luckily I have another CIB copy of one of the games so I compared it and I could only find one difference.  In the new game I received, the clear plastic case that holds the cartridge and snaps closed has "9H" printed on the upper left corner of the surface that the cartridge's rear side rests against.  The old game in my collection does not have any printing there and the case has a slightly yellowed and aged look while the new one is clear and perfect.  The other new game I received has "10H" printed on the same spot.

 

What to look out for when trying to determine authenticity with Game Gear games?

[+jgkspsx]

I would ask on SMSPower and/or the Facebook Game Gear groups. I am one of the most educated Game Gear people here and I don’t know the answer.

 

That said, I have never gotten a repro from a Japanese seller. Many of my interactions with smaller sellers have been similar. I’m happy to look at photos if you want to post them or message me.

[atariagerocks]

Ok.  How would you know if you had gotten a repro?

[CatPix]

I got a few games from Japan that looked like (and might have been) they were pulled out of a warehouse for unsold games just to get shipped to me. For really ridiculous prices, (however none were pricey games either in Japan nor Europe)

I'm not sure how successful the Game Gear was in Japan, but neither the SMS and Megadrive were so I suspect it sold moderately, making the possibility of brand new games, not just CIB ones but also NOS ones a very likely possibility. Most games at the time weren't shrinkwrapped.

 

Sega has several manufacturers working for them (and some companies got the right to make their own carts as well) so it's maybe not a surprise that they have slight differences between them.

 

[+jgkspsx]

The Game Gear was a total bomb in Japan.

[atariagerocks]

Another thing I noticed is the top box flaps of the new games are much tighter and impossible to open without creasing them.

[+Psionic]

On 1/4/2023 at 11:48 AM, atariagerocks said:

Ok.  How would you know if you had gotten a repro?

 

Not to say that they don't exist, but I have never seen a reproduction or bootleg Game Gear game come through my hands.  I just pulled out a Japanese GG game from my collection and the clear case has a "10H" production code stamped in it just like you are describing.  Box flaps on new games are usually difficult (if not impossible) to open without creasing them, which is usually a telltale sign of whether a game really is in fact new (since JP Game Gear games weren't shrink-wrapped).

 

I can't really give an opinion without seeing them, but nothing you are saying leads me to believe your games aren't genuine.

[Tanooki]

I have, mostly if all multicart stuff and from the 90s so they were period piracy treasures.  That stuff clearly would be obvious to anyone with a couple brain cells to rub together that they're not sega legit, and they were loose, not in some box, manual, dust case like setup either.  I've never seen a fake gamegear thing, but if they exist aliexpress or etsy would turn it up with someone printing off new stuff.

[CatPix]

I also don't see why someone would forge GG games and sell them as legit... without selling them at "legit games market prices."

The GG isn't famous in Japan and even outside, it's probably most well know in Europe and while prices here, especially for CIB games, have risen hard lately, we're still not at the level of Game Boy prices.

European Sega fans are aware that with a few exceptions, Europe got the best of what the GG and SMS had to offer, so unlike what we see for the NES/Famicom and SNES, much less people are interested in buying from Japan, except in the case of game being cheaper when bought from Japan.

Of course there is always the possibility of a few people entering the market of fake games precisely because there are basically none on the market, but it's just safer to assume that the game you got looks brand new because it's on a platform that receive much less attention.

[roots.genoa]

I just looked at 2 of my games (bought in the 90s): one has nothing but the other has "2-4".

[+jgkspsx]

I have a bootleg JP Zool. I can see what its cartridge case says. Probably just GAME 😜