Pirated or Illegal Copy of a Game????

Hi Guys,

Just wondering if a Game Boy Advance game that said "Not for Resale" printed on the front of the cartridge and had a "NOT FOR RESALE, DEMO GPK ONLY, PROPERTY OF NINTENDO" sticker on the back would be considered to fall under the "pirated or illegal copy feedback if it were sent to someone?

Thanks for your help and input.

i wouldn't. game companies send out demos or samples all the time and this is probably one of them. play through the game and if something is wrong then leave feedback for that (i.e. demo or missing some levels)

I think that you have a legit copy of the game.  You may received a trade from one of the many industry folk who regularly trade here on Goozex.  You probably just received a review copy of the game sent to a reviewer.  If you have any doubts after playing a bit of the game, please contact the other trader via PM first and ask about the situation.

So say f I went ahead and sent a game like that out to someone, do you think there would be a risk of me getting negative feedback for it being a pirated or illegal copy?  And say by chance someone did leave that feedback for me, would goozex side with me or the receiver?

cookiet:

So say f I went ahead and sent a game like that out to someone, do you think there would be a risk of me getting negative feedback for it being a pirated or illegal copy?  And say by chance someone did leave that feedback for me, would goozex side with me or the receiver?

 

I doubt anyone would leave you that feedback as long as the game played fine, but if they did Goozex would probably want the game sent to them and they would see it isn't pirated or illegal and you would get a positive so I think you should have no worries.

I would definately PM whoever you are matched with before you send it out to make sure that they understand the situation.  I am sure most people wouldn't but if they did the trade could be cancelled and you could be matched with someone else

It is either a demo, a game bundled with a specific game console, or a retail box you would see that is sort of a proof of pre-order.

There was a recent ruling where music CD's that were labeled as such were OK to sell. So I'm sure you are safe.

No. It's EXTREMELY rare to find a pirated copy of a gameboy advanced game. Most, if not all "illegal copies" contain either a USB port or a slot for some kind of memory card.

firenextdoor:

No. It's EXTREMELY rare to find a pirated copy of a gameboy advanced game. Most, if not all "illegal copies" contain either a USB port or a slot for some kind of memory card.

 

Bootleg GBA games are actually quite common. Particurarily on ebay. There are some sellers that deal largely in bootleg gba games on ebay and get away with it simply because most people dont know what to look for.

magiic:

firenextdoor:

No. It's EXTREMELY rare to find a pirated copy of a gameboy advanced game. Most, if not all "illegal copies" contain either a USB port or a slot for some kind of memory card.

 

Bootleg GBA games are actually quite common. Particurarily on ebay. There are some sellers that deal largely in bootleg gba games on ebay and get away with it simply because most people dont know what to look for.

 

Seriously? The effort it must take to make a bootleg GBA game baffles me. And how can that possibly be cost efficient at all?

I just googled it and I guess it's right. I don't see the big deal in it though, if it runs ok. I found some tips for you also:

1. Instruction booklets have fewer pages.

2. Print of the Box is different (small discrepencies / Print quality can be poor).

3. Additional leaflets like warning paper, advertisements and other stuff are not included.

4. Missing Patent and Made in Japan Prints on the back of the cartridge

^the above from http://boards.1up.com/zd/board/message?board.id=gba&message.id=16079

It cant be that hard to do. If it didn't make money people wouldn't be doing it. 

magiic:

It cant be that hard to do. If it didn't make money people wouldn't be doing it. 

I like money!

 

magiic:

It cant be that hard to do. If it didn't make money people wouldn't be doing it. 

Well, yeah. I'm just thinking though: the ease of burning a bootlegged PC game on a CD/DVD-R, yet I don't think bootlegged PC games are common on ebay. If GBA carts are as common as you make it sound, people really need to get a clue.

firenextdoor:

magiic:

It cant be that hard to do. If it didn't make money people wouldn't be doing it. 

Well, yeah. I'm just thinking though: the ease of burning a bootlegged PC game on a CD/DVD-R, yet I don't think bootlegged PC games are common on ebay. If GBA carts are as common as you make it sound, people really need to get a clue.

I bought a GBA game off eBay and it was bootleg.  Unfortunately, I had already left positive feedback before I fully realized it was bootleg. 

It played fine obviously, but made me mad I was ignorant and left positive feedback basically in fear of receiving negative in return.  I thought it looked funny, but I just figured the guy printed off his own manual, being too naive to the fact he would have made his own GAME and box too! 

I commented that the box looked funny, but I figured it was because he was from the UK.  I later saw an actual box and sticker for mario party and knew for sure it was bootleg then. There was no cardboard insert in the box either.  I knew there was something wrong but the game played fine and I was happy with that (at least until after I left positive FB and put more thought into it).

I see bootleg "cartridge only" GBA games at pawn shops all the time now. They're harder to tell if they are bootleg by just the sticker on the catridge.  Unless you're really into video games, you'd never know.  If I only knew six years ago what I knew now. Oh well.