Bootleg horror stories

Never_Scurred · Post by **Never_Scurred** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 4:26 am

anyone care to share any?
Wanna know what i'm getting into. I've got a few hunnid to burn on some boards but i'm worried about getting a bootleg....

Super Laydock · Post by **Super Laydock** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 2:08 pm

Aside from 2 bootleg copies of GBA Darius-R I got through ebay I've never had problems with bootlegs or the likes. And even then I should have known,
as it never claimed they were originals and the price really was too good to be true (2 new copies for $15 together, not too long after it's release).

So all I can offer as advice is:

1. Always look for what the seller says about originality in his offer
2. If not stated then always try and ask the seller
3. Try to use sellers with a good reputation (though it is never a guarentee!)
4. if the offer seems to good to be true, then it probably is. (a board normally going for $400, suddenly "on sale" for $100 should make you cautious!

Of course this is genereal advice and not specific for buying boards.
I guess one of the members owning multiple boards could help answering specific question on PCB bootlegs and what to look out for.

SuperGrafx · Post by **SuperGrafx** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 2:18 pm

A couple years back, I ordered two PC Engine games (brand new it was stated) from Video Game Liquidators. The games arrived and sure enough they were sealed, but these were pirate versions of Chase HQ and Twin Cobra made by the infamous KING Games.

There was no manual in the package, just a fold out poster with game directions. Plus the HUcards were constructed so poorly, it was almost comical. That said, I've never ordered anything from VGLQ since.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 1:15 am

I ordered Beatmania GB from play-asia and I was sent a bootleg by mistake. The cart was a grey cartridge the word "Game" on it instead of Game Boy. It was definatly NOT Play-Asia's fault. Play-Asia was very nice about correcting the error and gave me a refund since they didn't have any more Beatmania's left, which I used on Kururin Paradise. It was definatly the real deal, just like everything else I ordered from play-asia. I have ordered from play-asia quite a bit and never had any other problems from them before or after. I love Play-Asia.

One time, I saw this game called Spider Driod for the 2600 for cheap at Kiddie City. I got it becuase the name sounded interesting and it was cheap. I had no idea it was a bootleg of a bootleg that is a bootleg of Parker Bros. Amidar.

Not video game related, but one time Netflix sent me a bootleg fansubbed Giant Robo DVD from a company with a name like Anime Japan International with horrible subtitles instead of the actual DVD.

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 3:40 am

Boards as in PCB's?

Its usually hard to tell with PCB's unless the picture is very clear and detailed. Boots are uncommonly found when dealing in smaller circles, for example if you bought from here (trading forum) I doubt you would encounter any from trusted members. If your hunting through PCB stores, it would be beneficial just to mention what your in the hunt for on here so that we can tell you of our experiences with that particular PCB.

My only known boot was Wonderboy. Ebay auction showed a picture of the game running on a monitor on a home made supergun. When it was tested by Stuffmonger (I sent it to him to have an adaptor made) it turned out the audio was screwed and the picture had a fuzzyiness at the bottom portion of the screen. At closer inspection, alot of the chips were not flushly inserted into the PCB and a few traces were touched up or had wires connecting points.

Your more likely to have problems with an origonal PCB than actually getting a boot imo. Some older PCB's have sound issues, some boards have suicidal tendencies and some boards have a high sensitivity level when it comes to the power its taking in. So alot depends on your setup.

Use trusted sources and you should be fine, use auction sites and check the feedbacks. If you take some common sense precautions you will be ok 95% of the time.

Koa Zo · Post by **Koa Zo** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 3:24 pm

BrianC wrote:I ordered Beatmania GB from play-asia and I was sent a bootleg by mistake. The cart was a grey cartridge the word "Game" on it instead of Game Boy. It was definatly NOT Play-Asia's fault. Play-Asia was very nice about correcting the error and gave me a refund since they didn't have any more Beatmania's left, which I used on Kururin Paradise. It was definatly the real deal, just like everything else I ordered from play-asia. I have ordered from play-asia quite a bit and never had any other problems from them before or after. I love Play-Asia.

Just to counter your "love" proclamation - I must mention Play Asia is a bit questionable. I've had more problems with them than successes, from items listed as available and then cancelled after I'd payed, to back ordered and then never shipped, to games that looked like they had factory-second manuals, I'm pretty much fed up with PlayAsia.

ill6 · Post by **ill6** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 3:28 pm

While I am sure they exist I have never seen a bootleg Psikyo, Cave or Raizing board. You need to watch the older stuff like Taito, Toaplan etc.

Also many good games come on system boards with the exception of MVS I have never seen a boot on any of these systems... They may exist though (SPI,Super Nova, CPS2, PGM, STV, GNet, Naomi, etc).

Raidenfighter Kirkov · Mon Oct 02, 2006 5:47 pm

The first time i encountered a bootleg pcb was when i playing my raiden pcb.

I never played the pcb version before (i only knew the psx port), so i was wondering why the game has so extreme slowdowns.

One day i was talking about arcade pcbs with Andreas Nowitzki (btw: one of the best arcade technicians in europe) and i told him about the massive slowdowns of the raiden pcb.

He was laughing and said:"You got a bootleg version of the game."

A bootleg ? What the heck is a bootleg i asked him...and so little RFK learned a lot of all the evil things inside the arcade business.

Greetings
RFK

slugnoid · Post by **slugnoid** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 9:09 pm

picked up a boot copy of Metal Slug 3 once... should have known by the price that it was too good to be true... but the seller politely let me send it back for an exchange... I traded up for all new Sanwa sticks and buttons for my cab, so it all worked out in the end.

D · Post by D » Mon Oct 09, 2006 7:54 am

The thing with bootlegs is that in most cases they work just like their original counterpart. I've got a Shinobi which has little to no bass in the sound though. But the thing is that bootlegs are shit quality pcb's. So especially with a little older pcb's, you might experience failures of all sorts. A bootleg's price incl. shipping should be at a price level that if it fails you can say to yourself: "o, what the heck I only payed .. $'s for it and it worked for 3 days and now I what it is like to play this pcb.
I've certainly learned my lesson. A Carrier Airwing where p1 always goes left (like a grounding problem, but I think it's more complicated than that)
I've got a Hammerin' Harry with mixed up colors and a Flying Shark that acts up every now and then.
And perhaps most importantly, bootlegs are worthless, they have no real value. You can buy and sell them on Ebay, but to me they're worthless. Offcourse there are all sorts of bootlegs, perhaps even good ones. But I'd rather have you take my word for it then you finding it out yourself. It's always a higher risk. Out of all of my original pcb's every single one works. And you'll always wonder to yourself: "Would I have died if was playing the original..."

superhitachi4 · Post by **superhitachi4** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 5:20 pm

Be very cautious if you get into Neo Geo MVS collecting. Lot of boots. *cough* Puzzle Bobble

superhitachi4 · Post by **superhitachi4** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 5:22 pm

edit: Double post. Posting on my PSP

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:33 pm

Koa Zo wrote:
BrianC wrote:I ordered Beatmania GB from play-asia and I was sent a bootleg by mistake. The cart was a grey cartridge the word "Game" on it instead of Game Boy. It was definatly NOT Play-Asia's fault. Play-Asia was very nice about correcting the error and gave me a refund since they didn't have any more Beatmania's left, which I used on Kururin Paradise. It was definatly the real deal, just like everything else I ordered from play-asia. I have ordered from play-asia quite a bit and never had any other problems from them before or after. I love Play-Asia.
Just to counter your "love" proclamation - I must mention Play Asia is a bit questionable. I've had more problems with them than successes, from items listed as available and then cancelled after I'd payed, to back ordered and then never shipped, to games that looked like they had factory-second manuals, I'm pretty much fed up with PlayAsia.

I have never had any of those problems with Play-Asia. However, I did have a similar problem with YESAsia where they cancelled a game with very little notice. YesAsia always takes forever to ship and their free shipping seems to be first come, last serve. Every game I have ordered from Play-Asia has shipped within a couple weeks. Also, when games on sale ran out of stock, they shipped a game from the next stock, but still charged the sale price.

BTW, I wouldn't call what I said about play-asia a "love proclamation". That suggests an unfair bais towards the company. I said that I love them because my experience has been generally good. I didn't mean any hidden meanings from that or anything of the sort, and I'm sorry if you took it that way.

I understand experiences can differ and companies have changed. Maybe play asia has changed since last I ordered from them, but the last time I ordered was in March. It was a good experience where one thing was shipped early in a split shipment due to the other game being a preorder.