I got a bootleg the otherday...

[Niko]

and it wasnt even a Neo game. It was a cheap $10 GBA game off ebay from a US seller.

I immediately knew it was a boot as soon as I opened the package. The label was crooked, color was wrong, and there was a date sticker covering the case screw. Luckily they used cheap plastic so I was able to separate the two halves just enough to see a battery and confirm my suspicions.

I messaged the seller, and explained my findings. He quickly gave me a full refund and told me to keep the cart.

Honestly I dont think I would have cared that it was a boot if the label would have been on straight. But at the likely .25cents it costs to make them, they probably dont care about quality control.

 

[Liquid Snake]

I got $500 Boot AOF3 AES

 

[GohanX]

At this point I assume all loose GBA carts on ebay are boots.

 

[Liquid Snake]

At this point I assume all loose GBA carts on ebay are boots.

mostly................but even CIB you have to pay attention as well......

 

[FilthyRear]

When I worked at Gamestop we would see GBA boots all the time. They were pretty easy to pick if you looked at them for more than a few seconds - I've seen more than a few "Nintondo"-branded "Game Boyy" carts with obviously fake labels. You'd never see boots of the *better* games, just the mass market crap like Kim Possible and the endless fucking Lego games - games that you buy to shut your kids up.

And REALLY high quality Pokemon boots. Fuck, those things were almost IDENTICAL, save for the cheap off color labels.

 

[Niko]

I had heard of GBA boots before, but I figured it was only the super popular Pokemon, Zelda, Mario stuff. Not "Gundam Battle Assault".

On a side note, lets talk about why the fuck gameboy shit is so expensive? Beat to shit GBA systems go for almost as much as what they sold for brand new.

 

[fake]

When I worked at Gamestop we would see GBA boots all the time. They were pretty easy to pick if you looked at them for more than a few seconds - I've seen more than a few "Nintondo"-branded "Game Boyy" carts with obviously fake labels. You'd never see boots of the *better* games, just the mass market crap like Kim Possible and the endless fucking Lego games - games that you buy to shut your kids up.

And REALLY high quality Pokemon boots. Fuck, those things were almost IDENTICAL, save for the cheap off color labels.

Same. I got a lot of Nintondo and Ninfendo carts at my store.

 

[Jibbajaba]

I got $500 Boot AOF3 AES

You also got cuck'ed.

 

[Ip Man]

in the mid to late 2000' most of the the gba games i bought from ebay turned out to be boots. and i didn't really mind until my saved files started to disappear. pissed me off soo much when i took my boot final fantasy 4 on holiday with me and played it for two weeks just to have my save file disappear.

 

[NeoSneth]

report the seller. The fact that he was so quick to refund seems suspicious.

 

[Tech&Music]

Years ago, we went on holiday to Czech and went to this market. Shit was full of illegal bootlegs, like DVDs and CDs. We even saw police come by, which prompted some DVD sellers to quickly close their booth. We bought a copy of some Spongebob game for the GBA there. Recently came past it again, checked it and yep, it's a boot, the Nintendo logo is just off. That said, we have had that game for years and it always played fine in both my sister's Special Edition Mario Vs. DK GBA, as well as the light blue DS Lite we got a few years later. From what I've heard, GBA boots used to be really rampant in its heyday.

 

[BanishingFlatsAC]

The bootleg SSF2T that I got from a friend was actually the JP version, so it didn't glitch out at Akuma. It also had a better quality box and manual then the original. Nintondo 4 lyfe.

 

[egg_sanwich]

report the seller. The fact that he was so quick to refund seems suspicious.

Or maybe he's just actually a nice guy and not a cheap fuck trying to scam people?

 

[Tanooki]

In the last year the latest run of the bootlegs for the GBA are basically indistinguishable. I could write up a guide, but it's pointless because it's now to the point you have to open them up to know if it's a fake.

Last year I got from the UK my first and only boot, which I went to ebay about it and got a full refund when the guy refused to respond back, shortly after his account was revoked/erased by ebay.

I picked up Alien Hominid. The differences between the real deal and it are so minute you can't tell from a picture unless you get some extreme high resolution one and even then... 99% of the label was identical right down to the dot pattern ink style of the sticker. The only difference was that the very fine print by the corporate (maker) label saying 'The Behemoth' was literally like one PIXEL narrower than a legit game version, same with the (Nintendo) one too. The usually fucked ESRB or EU style brand in this case was 100%. The product code was a match and right font/size, as was the game title/lettering, and other imagery. On the back the Nintendo patent brand was correct. On the pin connector even that (C)NINTENDO which was the old classic tell (along with little holes in the pins) was correct and with no holes. The front where it said Gameboy Advance was slightly less firm to the eye/touch but you need it like right in your face, and the front/back plastic edge was slightly sharper than an original cart. That sharpness set me off.

When I unscrewed it it was a very solid looking board, but it didn't have the usual MX branded Nintendo chips. It had 2 other chips still from quality makers, but they were more intense than the GBA can handle, so there was a glop top (very small) in the center that helps dumb down the signal to the GBA so it would work. On the up side, the game itself has no battery in there as a halfassed boot would do, it has a full quality save chip that works and retains data. Fact is I could pass it off to anyone as a legit game if they didn't have a triwing screw driver and they'd never be the wiser. THAT is how good GBA boots are made in the last year. The very latest Pokemon knockoffs are just the same quality too. If you want a legit GBA game going forward, invest in the screw driver and think the worst when buying and hope for the best (or waiting 4 days or so to get a refund when mailing it back.)

 

[90s]

I didn't know GBA boots were so prevalent. Maybe I should go check my games. This hobby is fucked.

 

[ki_atsushi]

Yep, do not waste your time buying GBA carts anymore. I ran across a copy of Metroid Fusion about a year ago on eBay that was 99% identical to the original. The only thing that made me wonder if it was a boot was a small lag during gameplay... the game would hang up for a second while saving. I had owned 2 different copies before and I knew something was off, this made me take a closer look at the cart and judging by minor differences in the label and shell (and I do mean minor!) I discovered it was a fake.

I went back and looked at what other items the seller was selling, multiple carts of many different popular titles. Asked for a refund and he sent my money back in minutes, and he didn't even want the cart back. Hmmmm.....

This is why I'm so happy that the GBA Everdrive is a thing now, I can't wait to get it!

 

[xsq]

This is why I'm so happy that the GBA Everdrive is a thing now, I can't wait to get it!

that's what I thought the whole time I read this thread... I'm obviously super late on getting into GBA, if I ever do it'll be a blessing an everdrive exists.

 

[90s]

This is why I'm so happy that the GBA Everdrive is a thing now, I can't wait to get it!

Whats the timeframe for this?

 

[sparksterz]

yeah, buying GBA games you haven't already purchased is a waste of time now, get an everdrive and be done with it. Unless you feel like funding piracy on any game that's halfway decent.

 

[ki_atsushi]

Whats the timeframe for this?

TravistyOJ never said what the ETA was, but if we're part of the current pre-order on krikzz's website it looks like sometime between July 15 - August 15.

 

[LWK]

I once was sold a DS boot that had the word 'Nintondo' written on the back.

 

[Ip Man]

I once was sold a DS boot that had the word 'Nintondo' written on the back.

 

[ki_atsushi]

View attachment 37504

They do bootleg pressure cookers too!?

 

[Tung Fu ru]

View attachment 37504

I don't currently have a pressure cooker. But if I did, I would want that one. Just because its cooler than any other one that I would buy..... Unless it explodes because of it being a boot. That would suck.

 

[NGCDFreak]

My Atomiswave games are boots.