Question about Boots???

[acampero]

I did a search and found out what boots are, and how they are made.

Here's a question.

How can you tell if you are getting a boot vs. a real cartridge?

Also, I've heard boots are inferior to the originals. How so? Parts? If the roms are flashed then I would assume its the exact same game?

Or am I missing something?

 

[JustinS]

Boots

Boots are made of cheaper materials.

Youll tend to have graphics glitches and
Many Sound Glitches. Plus they tend to be worthless and
tough to sell.

Some People are happy with them.
If your considering a boot you might as well be playing them on an
Emulator which equally sucks In my opinion but thats another story.
Just my 2 cents.

-Justin

 

[acampero]

No boots for me.

No emulators either.

Only the real macoy, or ports to systems like the DC or Xbox. Stuff I bought.

 

[JustinS]

Links

Here a link to a few sites about bootlegs

Bootleg Fighters:
http://www.jamma.nl/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=768

MVS Card ID Site:
http://www.zen96737.zen.co.uk/

Both were helpful for me.

Look closely at the differences between the Legit and the Boot.

 

[Mattroid]

Nice boot info sites. I was just getting ready to search for that stuff. Thanks

 

[topher]

A lot of people look down on boots around here, but IMO they aren't that bad in some instances. Do you really want to spend 150+USD for an original NiTD or would you rather pay 20$ for a boot?

I own a butt ton of original MVS games and about 6 boots for the simple fact that the games are not worth the current market value in some instances ie Super Dodge Ball, the boot cost me 8$ and works flawlessly, the game is cool but not >100$ cool.

Now with that said, when you buy a boot you are taking a chance that endings have been cut, voices / sfx garbled or missing, and possibly graphic and play glitches. I have not encountered any of these problems personally, but I deemed it a risk worth taking for the savings involved.

 

[Mattroid]

I understand peoples' issues with boots, but the real problem is how often boots get sold as originals. If it's listed as a boot, then okay. And if it has a fake label/no label, I know that it's possible that it's a boot, regardless of what the seller says it is.

I don't look down on boots of Neo games as a bad thing, just a sort of inconvenience if you don't want boots. Mainly for the reason that it's not like I can go to the store and buy a new copy of NitD or SSV. If I could, I would. And I'd have an issue with people selling boots at that point.

In short: since SNK isn't making any money off some expensive as hell cart for sale on ebay, I don't see a problem with the cheaper bootleg alternative - assuming I know it's a boot before hand and it's priced as such.

 

[Zero Satori]

I know I'm in the minority here, but there are certain bootlegs that are worth a look because they're not direct copies of the originals. I personally love the bootleg MVS game, King of Gladiator because it basically acts like "KOF '98 Turbo," making it far more playable in today's day and age of speedy fighters. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is anothe King of Fighters "enhanced bootleg" that I've heard-of, but never played.

I'm not endorsing bootlegs, but sometimes, they're worth playing just for the different experience you'll get out of 'em.

 

[JoshuaMiller]

Nice sites, JustinS.

I also came across this one, more general info-

http://www.loopyeddie.com/bootleg.html

I'm new here, but I've seen his name around this forum.

 

[qube]

Nice sites, JustinS.

I also came across this one, more general info-

http://www.loopyeddie.com/bootleg.html

I'm new here, but I've seen his name around this forum.

Yeah, Eddie doesn't post much anymore, but he's a great member, and his site is useful and teh sechsay

 

[Mattroid]

Nice find for sure. Guess it's time to go back and check that WW7 cart I got from yaton over a year ago and see if it is, in fact, legit. Here's hoping it is, since I paid a pretty penny for it...

http://www.loopyeddie.com/bootleg.html

 

[jar155]

I don't like bootlegs of anything, especially games. I know that SNK isn't profiting off of the sale of stuff on ebay, but why should some guy be able to steal their hard work and make a buck of his own for a shoddy product?

If it's clearly advertised as a boot, I'm less bothered, but if I get sold something advertised as being original and it's not, I get pissed.

 

[Mattroid]

If it's clearly advertised as a boot, I'm less bothered, but if I get sold something advertised as being original and it's not, I get pissed.

Wholeheartedly agreed.

 

[creamcorn]

I hate paying for fake games but I do have 2 of them- Sengoku 2 and Spin Masters. I wanted to play them on my mvs and it was the cheapest way to go. And they work perfect for me....

 

[DegenerateSkate]

I was playing one of those King of Fighters 10th anniversary carts on my cab and I went to take a piss. When I came back I heard a loud buzzing noise followed by a loud pop. I look it the back of my cab and noticed the cart was smoking. I thought to myself, oh shit, please let my 6-slot be alright. I didn't see any physical damage to the cart, but its clear casing was full of smoke. It had sound problems before all this happend, but after this incident it played perfectly but all you could hear was a staic-like noise.

 

[Cylotron]

i say f boots also. if you're going to pirate something then just go play on an emulator(not that i'm saying you are). it's one thing to do that but the people who make/sell boots is just way beyond wrong.

 

[Xian Xi]

Usually boot carts are noticably lighter than normal but usually a fake label or a fold in the label tells me to open it and check. But as far as weight goes Dub had that super heavy 1945 boot with all windowed ep roms.

 

[Mattroid]

Just confirmed tonight that a Puzzle Bobble cart I bought recently is a boot I knew it probably was when the seller told me it had a fake label, so I'm not surprised. But here's the funny part...check out the pics of the pcbs...especially the bottom one:

http://www.arcadecrusade.com/gallery/v/gamerooms/mattroid/neogeo/puzzlebobble/

LOL, I can only assume that they used that move sticker to make sure the two board didn't touch and thus, start smoking like DegenerateSkate said above

 

[*Richter*]

IMO boots are fine for playing.

BUT for the collector only originals fit in!

NO boots in my collection!

 

[Zero Satori]

Just confirmed tonight that a Puzzle Bobble cart I bought recently is a boot

I don't recall who, but when I first joined these boards, I recall someone warning me that something like 90% of Puzzle Bobble/Bust-A-Move MVS carts are bootlegs. Seeing how prevelant the game is in arcades and peoples' collections, I don't doubt it one bit, and it's pretty much become a rule-of-thumb, in my book.

 

[Mattroid]

I don't recall who, but when I first joined these boards, I recall someone warning me that something like 90% of Puzzle Bobble/Bust-A-Move MVS carts are bootlegs. Seeing how prevelant the game is in arcades and peoples' collections, I don't doubt it one bit, and it's pretty much become a rule-of-thumb, in my book.

so I've heard. Does anyone know the specific reason(s) for this? I think I've only come across a handful PB carts over the last few years that I think I could be sure were legit. All of them being from reputable members here, no less

 

[Zero Satori]

so I've heard. Does anyone know the specific reason(s) for this?

I've always considered that it was because demand for the game exceeded the official production runs. I don't have official numbers, but Puzzle Bobble is more prevalent now (where I live) than Street Fighter II, as arcades still have them as a "quarter game" alternative to the fifty-cent and seventy-five cent games. Granted, a lot of Street Fighters probably died due to mishandling and suicide batteries, but I would venture to think that SNK produced far less Puzzle Bobble carts than Capcom did for their games, and some enterprising South Asian programmers decided to start making bootlegs in order to make some easy money off of the market's desire to have more Puzzle Bobbles.

 

[Neo Alec]

If your considering a boot you might as well be playing them on an
Emulator which equally sucks In my opinion but thats another story.
Just my 2 cents.

Not quite. At least with a bootleg cart you're playing on the original hardware. If the program on the boot is intact, it should play like an original cart. The emulator can't claim that.

 

[topher]

Not quite. At least with a bootleg cart you're playing on the original hardware. If the program on the boot is intact, it should play like an original cart. The emulator can't claim that.

QFT, I am sick of the whole "If you're gonna play boots then you might as well play the ROMZ instead" BS. SNK's not profiting one penny if I buy a boot or a legit cart. The only one that's potentially getting ripped off is me, but I KNOW if I am buying a boot or a legit board. If I am not sure then I don't purchase it. The price is usually what dictates my game purchases in alot of cases. 10$ Super Dodge Ball!!! Is it a boot??? Sure is, but do you know that when you are playing it on my cab? Nope, plays just like a legit cart.

 

[Zero Satori]

QFT, I am sick of the whole "If you're gonna play boots then you might as well play the ROMZ instead" BS. SNK's not profiting one penny if I buy a boot or a legit cart...If I am not sure then I don't purchase it.

I can't support bootlegs over roms in any case. Both of 'em are evil, as far as I'm concerned, but bootlegs have the added problem of effectively devaluing real carts in the eyes of those who are still interested in having "hard copies" of games. Of course, like Neo Alec said, at least with Neo-Geo, one has to purchase a legitamate MVS board to play the cart, so they more or less cancel each other out.

The only true answer, really, is DON'T BUY BOOTLEGS. I've been looking-around for at least a year for MVS Baseball Stars 2 for a good price, but the only ones around are fifty dollars or up, OR alternatively, a twenty dollar bootleg. Now, trust me, I want Baseball Stars 2, but I don't want to pay more than a bit for it. Instead of buying a bootleg, I just admit that I'm a tightwad and get over it, accepting that bootlegging, despite it's lure, is not the correct solution to my problems.