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DejaVu146
07-13-2012, 09:40 PM
So as we all know, 3rd Generation games (or any Game Boy Advance games for that matter) are extremely tough to find anywhere but the internet. The internet is great, but also carries the risk of purchasing bootleg copies, which is something you don't want to mess around with. The GBA games were so easy to bootleg, that there are many of them out there. In most countries, boot legging anything is illegal and a very serious issue.

So, I've come to study up on bootlegs and have found different ways to find if a game is a bootleg or not, and I'm here to share these tips with my fellow Pokebay-ers :)

1) It sounds bad to say, but don't buy from Asia. Asia's laws on bootlegging are not as strict as some countries, so Asian countries are more vulnerable to selling you a fake copy.

2) The 3rd Generation Pokemon games have kind of a "foil" label. If you look at a copy of a 3rd Gen games, and the label doesn't reflect light, or just looks like a paper sticker, it's most likely a fake.

3)Look at pictures online of a legitimate game cartridge sticker, and look at the location of everything (the rating, "The Pokemon Company", the games name, Nintendo Logo and Seal), if they are out of place or something doesn't look right (such as if there are bubbles on the sticker of Sapphire Version), then that's a red flag as well.

4) Look inside the cartridge (on the chip part where you insert the game). It should have writing on it. It should say "Copyright __" and the Nintendo logo. Don't get too hung up on what it says though. Just look for the Nintendo logo mainly. If there is nothing written on it, then it's most likely a fake.

5) When you turn the game on, and after you exit the title screen, it should go right to your save file. If the game says "The game can be played" or "The save file has been erased" or anything in between the title screen and the saved game screen, it's a fake

6) If the seller does not post an actual picture of the game, or doesn't allow you to look at a picture of the game before buying it, that should be a red flag that they know they're selling a fake game as well.

7) If the price is too good to be true ($4.00 with free shipping, for example), then it probably is.

Here is a Youtube video(s) that sums up (and gives comparisons between a fake and real game) what I just said. It helps give a few visuals as well. Remember to never sell a bootleg game if you receive one. Usually Amazon and Ebay have the buyer protection, which will refund you if you have received something that isn't really what it's advertised to be.:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fKOW5B2yxw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm9FK7Xo_lk&feature=related

Good luck!

EzzIlI
07-13-2012, 11:18 PM
I once bought a fake copie of Pokémon Fire Red :( I knew it was fake because everytime I wanted to migrate my Pokémon to Diamond, the save data of FR corrupted and I had to start all over! Nothing happened to Diamond though.

Healix
07-14-2012, 05:45 AM
Just want to add that it can say "the internal battery has run dry. The game can still be played, but clock-based events will no longer occur" after exiting the title screen and can still be real. I had my sapphire version that I purchased from walmart a while back do this.

Pikachu2000
08-14-2012, 07:03 PM
i puechesed my ruby on ebay no fake i think

Arrogant Watermelon
08-14-2012, 07:57 PM
i have pokemon emerald and pokemon leaf green they both work cause im playing themm right now

Arrogant Watermelon
08-14-2012, 07:58 PM
emerald was boxed and i got it for £15 i thought i got a good deal

truffledude12
08-14-2012, 10:35 PM
i got a fake emrald twice of ebay AND amazon i still have my fake sapphire and i have my ruby and leafgreen real

Pikachu2000
08-15-2012, 11:26 AM
what about first gen any help on them

Arrogant Watermelon
08-15-2012, 05:12 PM
i have yellow and my pokemon gameboy

truffledude12
08-15-2012, 07:26 PM
i have red and crystal for my Gameboy Color

Pikachu2000
08-17-2012, 10:32 AM
i have red how do i tell its a foney

Sniv
08-30-2012, 10:24 PM
I got FR/LG, R/S/E all fakes for christmas. It was horrable. :( Im buying mine own pokemon games from now on.

DejaVu146
08-31-2012, 01:36 AM
YOu can still buy 3rd gen games online, just be careful :). I followed the things I just posted and I got a real one

Chikorita
09-01-2012, 11:21 PM
I stopped buying DS games from the internet after discovering my SS copy was fake.... Which surprised me because neither of the Kingdom Hearts game were fake. But... now I can see why. Most of my games come from Asia, and I never look at the cartridge. So I started to buy them on stores... Still these are great tips. If I could thank it, I would a 100 times. I guess I'll get back on buying games from the Internet any time soon and check the cartridges first before buying anything. Thank you DejaVu :D

Sniv
09-16-2012, 10:27 PM
Can someone post a pic of there Real, legit, orginial gameboy games mainly FR/LG/S/E/R? It would be really helpful to all of us who want to find a real legit gameboy game.

lvcgrad2005
09-16-2012, 10:57 PM
That is a good idea Sniv. Posting pictures of the real generation 3 games would be helpful to those who are looking for any generation 3 game. People need to be careful because there are fake Pokemon games on amazon.com and ebay. I got a fake Pokemon Emerald game off of amazon.com last month, which I ended up contacting the seller and got a refund. I am glad that the seller on amazon.com was understanding. How I knew the Pokemon Emerald game was fake was because I couldn't migrate Pokemon from the game and the sticker was not holographic. I finally got a real Pokemon Emerald off of ebay, but before placing an offer I asked the seller if the sticker was holographic and the seller said that the sticker was holographic. I was glad that I got the real Pokemon Emerald game.

DejaVu146
09-18-2012, 02:26 PM
The videos I linked should be better than pictures because it shows a real and fake one and compares them, but if you guys want pictures, I can look for some later today

DejaVu146
09-18-2012, 10:08 PM
Here are some pictures I could find.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EMERALD

Comparing:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71qAJGbxVjL.jpg

Fake Emerald (Notice the Pokemon logo, ESRB rating, Nintendo Seal, lack of holographic label):
http://www.epforums.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=28312&d=1321378025

Legit Emerald:
http://img1.classistatic.com/cps/l/kj/09/1/16/201/r3/98922cg_18.jpeg
~~~~
RUBY:

Legit:
http://i50.tinypic.com/vgbp.jpg

Fake (I apologize for the small image. Notcie lack of holographic label, Location of "The Pokemon Company) :
http://thumbs3.ebaystatic.com/m/mwwEQ4VPHmttdKCMj-8oZuw/140.jpg
~~~~~~~
FIRERED

Compare:
http://media.photobucket.com/image/FAKE%20POKEMONRUBY%20CARTRIDGE/BlazikenKirbytcg/PirateFireRed/DSC05465.jpg

Fake:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wZZJhAza0FY/TJLUAILE0pI/AAAAAAAABZM/MkyPs2teZDM/s1600/pokemon2.jpg

Legit (No, that's not me holding my cartridge lol)
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Pokemon-FireRed-Version-Authentic-Original-Nintendo-Game-Boy-Advance-Cartridge-/00/s/NDgwWDY0MA==/$T2eC16dHJGYE9nooji0NBQLU+27ViQ~~60_35.JPG
~~~~~~~~~~

So hopefully that gives you some clues. However, PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEOS I POSTED. You can't always tell 100% if a game is fake just by the front of the cartridge. About 90% of the times you can, but sometime you have to look at the green exposed chip on the inside of the game, or sometimes even turn it on. So please, watch the video to know what to look for.

Caseryn
05-11-2013, 07:29 AM
Yep, my sapphire is a fake.

Zrkome
05-11-2013, 08:58 AM
Well it's lucky I got a mate to sell his Pokemon gold for $20. It's great I can trust them :)

LinuxUser
06-28-2013, 04:55 AM
actually it can say something, i have a real emerald( i know its real i pal park about every day) and it says the "interal battery has run dry the game can be played however clock based events will no loner accur" and i did end up with fake emerald from ebay once but if you know how to spot real games you can buy from ebay. i got my real leaf green from ebay

Nair
08-20-2014, 06:12 PM
Hey btw how much would pokemon gold version cost to u? I am thinking about selling it on ebay and want a price.

Katarina
08-21-2014, 04:04 PM
Hey btw how much would pokemon gold version cost to u? I am thinking about selling it on ebay and want a price.

about 50 dollars in the US