I Purchased Sapphire!

[zborgerd]

Heh.  I guess some guy has a boatload of those alleged "bootleg" copies of Sapphire.  I ordered one so that I could get my hands on it to further investigate these things.  It may not be one of the "legit" versions, but I think it's certainly a better deal than some lesser games (like Kaze Kiri and Magical Chase).

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4315&item=8200713107&rd=1

This guy has sold several of these within the last few days.  I suspect that he'll be listing more as well.  I wonder how many people paid upwards of $400 for one of these, only to end up getting would could be a "fake".

I think it would be fun to try to discover what exactly happened with this game, and why there are all of these alleged "fakes" out there.  Who knows...  They really could be part of a legitimate second print run as described in the above link.

I think it's a good game for me to start using that sealed/brand new Arcade Card Pro that I got a month ago.  

[akamichi]

From the pics, it looks like the real thing.  I don't have a copy myself to compare with but if you can't tell the difference between this version and the real thing, then how would somebody know it's a fake?

It's possible that a bunch of old stock just turned up somewhere and nobody knows the origin.  The seller's explanation seems plausible especially with similar things happening with Circus Lido and Akiyama Jin Suugaku Mystery. Both showed up on amazon within the last 4 or 5 years and both were commanding crazy high prices beforehand.

Circus Lido is practically common now but the Akiyama Jin game can get up into the couple thousands of $$$.

I don't really see the reason to counterfeit some 10 year old game with such precision.  I realize that some scammer could enter any collectors' market and entice those people with authentic looking "rare" stuff and make off with the cash.  However, in this case, the accuracy of the packaging and seemingly thorough attention to detail would suggest, IMO, that there was a lot of effort to reproduce this so-called fake.. perhaps more effort than it was worth to scam the market.

Anyway, it'd be nice to have Sapphire selling at lower prices and I wouldn't mind snagging one of these questionable copies.  If no one can prove it's fake, then it isn't.

[zborgerd]

Good point.  It doesn't matter to me if it's a fake, to be honest.  Frankly, nobody knows if Hudson didn't just happen to have someone else make a second run of this game in the first place.  If it were done through a different company, then it could explain the slight discrepancies between the colors and print quality in the two different versions of the game.  It's hard to tell.

They really do *look* authentic enough.  VideogameImports had some info on this a few years ago:

Code: [Select]


BEWARE OF COUNTERFEIT COPIES OF SAPPHIRE ON PC ENGINE ARCADE CD!!!!!!
Yes, unfortunately it's true; there are counterfeit copies of the very rare and expensive shooter GINGA FUKEI DENSETSU SAPPHIRE. We received 2pcs of the game today as a part-exchange from a regular customer (who I am sure does not know that they are not original). Upon opening the box, something just didn't look quite right. However, they were fully factory sealed with the little tear off strip, they had the spine card, which even had the little slant on the back as with all PC Engine spines. We haven't opened them but they appear to even have a registration card inside. Luckily, we had a used copy of the game in stock and could make a comparison, and it was only then that we could see that it was obviously a counterfeit game, albeit done extremely professionally! Points to look for include:

The orange colour (see the Arcade CD logos at the front, side and back) is a brighter shade in the counterfeit version. The original is slightly darker and is extremely lightly 'dotted' with with very tiny white dots. They are barely visible to the eye, but they are there. Looks like the counterfeiters were unable to replicate this.

The artwork on the front, of the girl, appears very slightly out of focus.

The most noticeable part is on the back cover, where there are pictures of the 2 Arcade cards. The counterfeit version is much more fuzzy looking, and the picture of the planet is unclear. With the picture of the the Arcade Card Duo, on the original version, you can see a very thin white outline around the part of the card with the artwork on it. On the counterfeit version, there is no white outline.

I would recomment everybody considering buying a new or even used copy of this game, to be extremely careful. Even if you are buying from people or business held in high esteem, they may be unwittingly selling you a counterfeit copy.


There is no mention as to how the actual disk appears in comparison to an "original" of this game.  Someone, a few years ago, published some side-by-side comparison photos.  I think it was NCSX.  I'm going to see if I can track it down.

[zborgerd]

There's another one online.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4315&item=8200821974&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

[twor2005]

This was never at the top of my list to get, but I'm interested in how this turns out. Please report on the disc when you get it. If its a real pressed disc, that would be pretty nice.

I've often wondered about the quality of Dracula Xs you see on ebay from Hong Kong- whether they are legit, and if not, how good is the reproduction? Heck it would be just fine with me if nice reproductions were available for all Turbo Games. I would pay $30 a pop for them no problem.

[Keranu]

These almost look worth getting, but I would like to know just how legit it is.

[akamichi]

zborgerd, I'd be interested in hearing about what you think of the quality of the "fake" once you get it.  I'm going to keep a look out for other auctions and hopefully I can get one.

Update:
Wow, this guy must have a number of them.  There was a total of 3 I've seen so far.  I was able to get one, but I guess we'll see.  Hopefully the seller won't have a problem with my zero feedback.  :p

[zborgerd]

zborgerd, I'd be interested in hearing about what you think of the quality of the "fake" once you get it.  I'm going to keep a look out for other auctions and hopefully I can get one.

Update:
Wow, this guy must have a number of them.  There was a total of 3 I've seen so far.  I was able to get one, but I guess we'll see.  Hopefully the seller won't have a problem with my zero feedback.  :p

He seems like a really nice guy so far.  Has been very communicative, and indicated that he'd ship it out tomorrow.

Apparently, he purchased an A4 sized box full of them, from Japan, in 2001.  What's interesting is that it apparently had a Hudson label on the box.

[akamichi]

He seems like a really nice guy so far.  Has been very communicative, and indicated that he'd ship it out tomorrow.

Apparently, he purchased an A4 sized box full of them, from Japan, in 2001.  What's interesting is that it apparently had a Hudson label on the box.

Man, I wish I could have found a deal like that.  A4 is fairly large.  Proabably 20 or so copies.  I'd like a get a couple copies.

I'm still not convinced these are fake.  If what has been said is actually true, these seem to be more on the legit side than ever.  It's pretty common that dead stock is found all over the place.  Lost and forgotten until someone stumbles across it.  I've seen instances of this many times over the course of the time I've lived in Japan.  Hell, I've cleaned places out of their dead stock of sealed/new Famicon and PCE games that a clerk just found somewhere in the stock room.

Ok, I admit... I want these newly found copies to be legit.  I'm not gonna lie about it.

[zborgerd]

Man, I wish I could have found a deal like that.  A4 is fairly large.  Proabably 20 or so copies.  I'd like a get a couple copies.

I'm still not convinced these are fake.  If what has been said is actually true, these seem to be more on the legit side than ever.  It's pretty common that dead stock is found all over the place.  Lost and forgotten until someone stumbles across it.  I've seen instances of this many times over the course of the time I've lived in Japan.  Hell, I've cleaned places out of their dead stock of sealed/new Famicon and PCE games that a clerk just found somewhere in the stock room.

Ok, I admit... I want these newly found copies to be legit.  I'm not gonna lie about it.

I agree.  I hope that they are real simply because it makes a previously rare game more available to people at reasonable prices.  $500 for a game is downright ridiculous.

I've seen many games where there were packaging discrepancies.  It could mean any number of things...  Hudson could have hired someone else to do the printing and packaging.  Companies get CDs pressed and packaged by different companies all of the time.  I've seen second runs of audio CDs that have had some pretty significant packaging differences.

I suppose that he could have sold them all at outrageous prices.  I'm not sure why he didn't.  It seems like he just wants to give these to good homes.  Maybe he just doesn't feel it's right to scam people for $500.  I guess I'll find out what sort of condition it is in when it arrives.  For all I know, it could be a CDR; but it certainly *looks* authentic.  I've seen these "counterfeit" copies go for $500 before, to unknowning buyers.  I've written sellers to let them know that the copy that they've offered is possible one of these "counterfeit" versions, and often they insist that they've never heard of the existence of these fakes.

I'll post more details for everyone when it arrives.  

By the way.  He says he does have a few copies left.

[pixeljunkie]

I bought one [had to resist buying multiples] It was shipped today....cannot wait to get my hands on it. Seems totally feasible for the "2nd run" story to be true. Interesting about the box he bought them in and Hudson's inability to confirm them being fake. I'm crossing my fingers some concrete evidence about the origin comes out eventually. Either way, $60 is awesome.

[akamichi]

I'll add more warm fuzzies to this conversation.

Turns out that I know of this seller because we've both been on the Turbo list for quite some time.  I've never had any kind of trouble with anybody on the Turbo list and he's no exception.  He does know a lot about the PCE too.  Search the list archives if you want I'm pretty sure he's in there somewhere.

It's true he could have easily sold all of the copies for much more, but it does seem that he just wants to make a highly sought after game available for a reasonable price.  

For that, respect++ to the seller.

BTW, he's sending mine out right now.

[pixeljunkie]

I'll add more warm fuzzies to this conversation.

Turns out that I know of this seller because we've both been on the Turbo list for quite some time.  I've never had any kind of trouble with anybody on the Turbo list and he's no exception.  He does know a lot about the PCE too.  Search the list archives if you want I'm pretty sure he's in there somewhere.

It's true he could have easily sold all of the copies for much more, but it does seem that he just wants to make a highly sought after game available for a reasonable price.  

For that, respect++ to the seller.

BTW, he's sending mine out right now.

Yeah, his price is awesome..."alternate" version or not. He could easily get more for these...or scam people. But he's cool and friendly and reasonable. And like you said, he seems to want to just make them available for people...very cool.

[Fudoh]

Let me join the discussion !

Actually I'm the one who bought them in Tokyo a few years back and put up those Ebay auctions now. If you have any questions, just let me know.

Since Ebay kicked one (out of ten) of the auctions and I first want to clear things up with them, I've put up a small site where you can get the game (in case you're interested).

The adress is: http://sapphire.anime4ever.de

Please let me make clear that I sell them as what they are: Sapphire reprints of unknown origin. Back a few years Hudson mentioned that these could be "waste", something like pre-production samples or a production run rejected due to sub-par quality - not illegal, but not meant for sale either. I simply don't know.

Thanks,
Fudoh

[pixeljunkie]

Let me join the discussion !

Actually I'm the one who bought them in Tokyo a few years back and put up those Ebay auctions now. If you have any questions, just let me know.

Since Ebay kicked one (out of ten) of the auctions and I first want to clear things up with them, I've put up a small site where you can get the game (in case you're interested).

The adress is: http://sapphire.anime4ever.de

Please let me make clear that I sell them as what they are: Sapphire reprints of unknown origin. Back a few years Hudson mentioned that these could be "waste", something like pre-production samples or a production run rejected due to sub-par quality - not illegal, but not meant for sale either. I simply don't know.

Thanks,
Fudoh

awesome man! Thanks again!