Bootleg Saturn Games?

[tbonesteak4dinner]

Hi everyone - having bought games and CD's from Japan and China many times before I'm pretty versed in telling bootlegs from originals. However, I'm very new to Sega Saturn games (just ordered my first in fact ), and I'd like to grab a few Japanese releases in addition to the US titles that I want, and of course, I don't want to get screwed.

So I guess this boils down to: How common are Saturn bootleg games? Any hallmarks that I should be looking for to tell real ones from fakes?

There's not much info online, so I assume they're not common, but I figured I'd run it by you folks and see if there was anything I should be looking out for...

[games-go-round]

I, myself, have bought a lot of import games off of eBay, and have never gotten a bootleg one.  My best advice is to compare different photos from different auctions, if you're going the eBay route.  Legit games and cases will usually look much shaper / cleaner than bootlegs, and are much more common.  Also, make sure to buy from someone with a high feedback rating - hit-japan is a longtime, trusted seller from Japan.

If I remember right, Saturn games are hard to bootleg.  Each disc has a sort of "stamp" on it at the outer edge, that more or less tells the Saturn that it's a legit disc.  It seems like a little thing, but I don't know if it's even possible to duplicate that.

[Forte]

The easiest way to check is if the game actually plays or not. Saturn systems, like most disc based systems (except the LOL Dreamcast), require a modchip to play burnt (aka bootleg) games. The Action Replay allows for region free gameplay, but since the Saturn uses a dual check system, a modchip is required to play burnt games. If the game doesn't start, it's a bootleg.

But you should be able to tell well before then. A pirate isn't going to put much effort into selling them knowing that fact, so they'll be cheaply made with regular paper and probably no manual, just a printout of the front of the artwork.

[wiggy]

I think he means China bootlegs, not CDRs.

The Saturn probably wasn't popular enough for China knockoffs. With the PS around, I doubt there ever would have been the need to make bootlegs for anything but the PS.

[tbonesteak4dinner]

Yep I was referring to Chinese or Taiwanese bootlegs where they try to go for the retail look.

So compiling from this thread it looks like:
1. There's a stamp on the bottom around the outer edge of legit Saturn games that generally won't appear on fakes.
2. If the (Japanese) game plays in a Japanese or region modded US system right away, then it's legit since it would take a mod chip to boot a burned game anyway.
3. As with any bootleg, packaging and manuals will be noticeably cheaper looking or not include everything you'd expect.
4. Saturn bootlegs just aren't common due to the system's popularity, so there's extremely low risk for bootlegs at all.

Seems like that's plenty enough for me to check some purchases I have coming in, thanks guys! 

[games-go-round]

Yep I was referring to Chinese or Taiwanese bootlegs where they try to go for the retail look.

So compiling from this thread it looks like:
1. There's a stamp on the bottom around the outer edge of legit Saturn games that generally won't appear on fakes.
2. If the (Japanese) game plays in a Japanese or region modded US system right away, then it's legit since it would take a mod chip to boot a burned game anyway.
3. As with any bootleg, packaging and manuals will be noticeably cheaper looking or not include everything you'd expect.
4. Saturn bootlegs just aren't common due to the system's popularity, so there's extremely low risk for bootlegs at all.

Seems like that's plenty enough for me to check some purchases I have coming in, thanks guys! 

That's the kicker - like Wiggy said, most pirated games around that time were Playstation titles.  I have never seen a pirated Saturn game, and I've been buying and selling imports for more than ten years now.  I'm sure they're out there somewhere, but more likely than not, your purchases should be legit!

BTW, whatcha got coming in the mail???

[tbonesteak4dinner]

Cool, good to hear - it'll be like buying N64 games then, bootlegs are so rare they're almost collectable.

And as for what I've got on the way - Slayers Royal and Slayers Royal 2 are coming in the mail from Japan. Probably not that cool for other people, but I'm really, really excited. Call me a big fan of the anime series.   I can't seem to find an English patch yet, but it seems like there's translations/guides floating around here and there...

         

[Beastman1975]

Cool read recently that a 3rd new series is in the works
 after revolution and  evolution-r

[Forte]

I don't understand why PS1 China knockoffs would be "common" since the only version of PS1 that could play bootleg games defaultly was the 1000 series. You can't just pirate a disc game and make it run on an unmodified console (except the LOL Dreamcast) and as far as I know, none of the Sony encryptions were broken to allow for pirates to make self booting PS1 games. Granted, you could use swap trick or gamesharks (through series 7000) to boot burned games, but any sucker buying a fake wouldn't know to do that. It's not like with pirate cartridge games where there isn't an actual protection other than the size of the plastic molding or pinset.

[tbonesteak4dinner]

Cool read recently that a 3rd new series is in the works
 after revolution and  evolution-r

REALLY?! I really hope they go back to the series' roots. They botched Revolution and Evolution-R pretty bad, especially when you compare them to how awesome the first two seasons are. Either way this is really awesome news! I can't wait!

I don't understand why PS1 China knockoffs would be "common" since the only version of PS1 that could play bootleg games defaultly was the 1000 series.

Doesn't that answer your own question? Sony obviously made a point to address the ability to boot copied or bootlegged games in the revised consoles, in addition to making them cheaper to manufacture. The only reason to put money into addressing that issue would be if it was widespread enough - otherwise it's not worth the development funding. 1000 series systems would have also still been common even after later revisions were released (why would those owners re-buy the same thing?), so there would still be a market for bootlegs. People who had 1000 series systems wouldn't be the wiser (if they were blind ) and people who had revisions would just get a bum disc and get ripped off anyways. Either way the bootleggers win unfortunately...