tremoloman2006 Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 Did anything ever come of this? I had 2 FB2+'s in my attic for a year and I finally opened them. One didn't work and the other only works on one of my TVs. Apparently the ones I bought from Woot! are indeed bootlegs. Too late to return them now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhd Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Did anything ever come of this? I just did a quick Westlaw search for decisions involving Tommo, but there are no results. The matter may have settled (very few civil actions ever make it to final judgement) or it may still be before the courts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velvis Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I always thought it was weird that of all things to bootleg, something like the Flashback would be it. I mean really, how many of these things have been sold and how much would it cost to bootleg something like that? Obviously I must be wrong since it happened, but I would think there are far more profitable things to knock off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Ah, shucks... This is no different from the pirate "TV Games" Famiclones (PowerJoy, etc) they sell at the malls. Nintendo has been fighting them for years. Basically, they shut one kiosk down, and another one opens elsewhere. But there is a silver light at the end of the tunnel. If the pirate companies now have a working AOAC (Atari On A Chip), that opens up the possibilities for legitimate hardware clones, just with a cartridge slot instead of a crap-ton of included games. I'm all for an Atari clone, and with the glut of games still floating around on the market, fresh hardware (even if it's cloned) will put a much needed boost in the used cart market. Whether advanced homebrew games like BoulderDash will work on cloned hardware has yet to be seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulBlazer Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 So old thread bump -- did anything actually happen with this finally? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 Nice bump! Hopefully they don't also bootleg the Coleco Flashback... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raticon Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 Im also quite curious what became of this. The result could in some was act as a guideline for companies importing these kind of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobracon Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 Maybe when Curt feels better he will chime in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro Rogue Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 The operations were shut down and all the pirate ones that were still on store shelves here were pulled and destroyed. If you're looking for FB2s I would still be careful to make sure it's not one of the faulty pirate ones. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulBlazer Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 The operations were shut down and all the pirate ones that were still on store shelves here were pulled and destroyed. If you're looking for FB2s I would still be careful to make sure it's not one of the faulty pirate ones. Thanks for the update on this. Do you know (or can you say) if Atari was able to get any damages? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 The operations were shut down and all the pirate ones that were still on store shelves here were pulled and destroyed. If you're looking for FB2s I would still be careful to make sure it's not one of the faulty pirate ones. I have a FB2 that I got for Christmas a number of years ago. Is there any good way to tell if it's legit or a pirated knockoff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro Rogue Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 Thanks for the update on this. Do you know (or can you say) if Atari was able to get any damages? We weren't privy to that, all we did was alert them to the issue and do an analysis of a clone unit for them. At the minimum they had all the stock pulled as mentioned and no more entered the US, which is often the most you're likely to get with pirating issues like this especially from Asia. I have a FB2 that I got for Christmas a number of years ago. Is there any good way to tell if it's legit or a pirated knockoff? If you bought it in a retail store after 2006 it's most likely a pirate. They were primarily sold through Kroger stores (www.kroger.com) and affiliate stores in the Kroger network. This thread talks about it and has plenty of comparison pictures between legit and pirate FB2s: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/173494-original-flashback2-sighting-2499/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 If you bought it in a retail store after 2006 it's most likely a pirate. They were primarily sold through Kroger stores (www.kroger.com) and affiliate stores in the Kroger network. This thread talks about it and has plenty of comparison pictures between legit and pirate FB2s: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/173494-original-flashback2-sighting-2499/ I'm pretty sure I got it right around that time ('05 - '07) but I honestly don't remember. It's been packed away for awhile. Anyway, I took it apart today. The printed circuit board is in the Rev C form factor but while the pics of the printed circuit board don't look like the pirate versions shown in that thread, they also don't look like legit FB2 boards. Damn it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 I'm pretty sure the Flashback 2 I have is original because I have opened it at least once and it has all the little solder pads for modding scattered about on the PCB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulBlazer Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 If people are not sure, take pictures and post them. The experts here can tell you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 I've put mine back together already, but here's the best pic I got of the "business end" of the PCB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 (edited) I've put mine back together already, but here's the best pic I got of the "business end" of the PCB. Is that the pirate or official version? I didn't take my PCB out, but on the backside it says "Michele" over by the player two port, with the cartridge wiring diagram on the other side. Pretty sure mine's official. Edited July 5, 2014 by stardust4ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 Is that the pirate or official version? Good question. Read my posts up-thread, lol. It LOOKS legit from the outside - proper colors on the control panel, labels, etc. But the PCB is decidedly unlike any of the small "Rev C" boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 (edited) Crap dude. The fakes are harder to spot than I imagined. Mine was bought in early 2014 (March 17th) as a used accessory from blasted machines tech shop, with the Flashback 2 console, adapter, and two controllers (no box). I haven't even played it yet... Edited July 5, 2014 by stardust4ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro Rogue Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Good question. Read my posts up-thread, lol. It LOOKS legit from the outside - proper colors on the control panel, labels, etc. But the PCB is decidedly unlike any of the small "Rev C" boards. Who told you it was a Rev C board? Looks like one of the earlier revisions. Here's more on the Kroger one. Can you take pics of the other side of your board? http://atariage.com/forums/topic/187727-is-my-fb2-a-fake/?do=findComment&comment=2371823 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Who told you it was a Rev C board? Looks like one of the earlier revisions. Here's more on the Kroger one. Can you take pics of the other side of your board? http://atariage.com/forums/topic/187727-is-my-fb2-a-fake/?do=findComment&comment=2371823 I thought "Rev. C" indicated the smaller PCB. Anyway, I'll disassemble it again tomorrow and take some more pics. FWIW, my wife thinks she bought it for me at Target, whatever year it was. It was definitely at least a couple (maybe several) years before 2010 when those pirated copies showed up in Kroger and Kroger-owned stores around the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro Rogue Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 I thought "Rev. C" indicated the smaller PCB. Anyway, I'll disassemble it again tomorrow and take some more pics. FWIW, my wife thinks she bought it for me at Target, whatever year it was. It was definitely at least a couple (maybe several) years before 2010 when those pirated copies showed up in Kroger and Kroger-owned stores around the country. Then it's most likely a legit one, Target was one of the regular retailers we set up to sell it. Rev B and Rev C were smaller, but Rev C has very specific changes in layout to make modding easier. http://atariage.com/forums/topic/163239-fb2-rev-c-cart-mod-visual-cheat-sheet/?do=findComment&comment=2015452 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Who told you it was a Rev C board? Looks like one of the earlier revisions. Here's more on the Kroger one. Can you take pics of the other side of your board? http://atariage.com/forums/topic/187727-is-my-fb2-a-fake/?do=findComment&comment=2371823 Thanks for the pics link. I opened mine the other day but did not realise the pirates were so crafty. I'll double check mine later, thanks... Sadly I plugged mine in for the first time tonight and it did not work at all. The Atari power adapter is a good 9V positive tip; I tested it with my tongue (seriously don't do this) and it zapped me! No picture at all and no signal whatsoever from the A/V. I have a custom arcade joystick with an indicater LED which did not light when plugged up, so I'm fairly confident there is no voltage on VCC. Sometime later, I'll test the plug, power switch, and voltage regulator for faults. Hopefully I can ressurect the poor little guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Alright, more pics. I apologize - my DSLR isn't handy and the morning light made it hard to decent shots. Anyway, this the backside of the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Alright, more pics. I apologize - my DSLR isn't handy and the morning light made it hard to decent shots. Anyway, this the backside of the board. IS this the bootleg or the real thing? Please clarify when posting pics... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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