Real/Fake? Texas Chainsaw Massacre Cart

[singlebanana]

I recently purchased a large lot of 2600 games, which included a Texas Chainsaw Massacre cart. Seller was unsure of it's authenticity and provided this detail before the sell; I got the lot for a fair price and took a chance. I'm trying to determine the authenticity, so I would appreciate any details of things to look for. Thanks.

[atari181]

Look for the grips on the side of cart(wizard case). Wizard games have white boards(I believe)

A picture would help

[number six]

You didn't happen to buy this on eBay did you?

 

Some guy has been selling lots of carts for the last few months and dropping in repro/fake/whatever-you-call-it copies of games like Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, X-man, etc. into the lots.

 

Here's one: http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574883395&toolid=10001&campid=5336500554&customid=&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2FLot-of-14-Atari-2600-Games-Asteroids-Combat-Halloween-X-Man-Berzerk-%2F321047165101%3Fpt%3DLH_DefaultDomain_0%26hash%3Ditem4abfe6f8ad

 

Unless I'm wrong Wizard didn't release games in those cases, ditto on X-man. If i'm wrong i'm sure somebody can point that out.

 

My guess is he's getting people who think they are getting a 'find' in an eBay lot. ie the NES world championship cart mixed in that one random lot years ago, etc. The story on each auction seems to be 'these are my sons games' with the inference of "i dont know anything about them" which bolsters the created scenario that you are dealing with somebody who doesn't know what they have. It's also an easy bit of protection as if you buy the lot then cry foul afterwards he can just claim ignorance. Of course if you look at his feedback he's sold tons of game stuff before and after.. where he's known exactly what it is and apparently it's rarity so it makes the 'heres some games, whatever' descriptions in these lots seem a bit suspicious.

 

Once again i could be wrong, but if i'm not.. its definitely an interesting 'sales gimmick' (to put it nicely).

 

I only found these because I was looking for a Halloween cart around christmas.. but since these didn't appear to be in the wizard carts (and especially the x-man) i didn't bid as it looked fishy.

[singlebanana]

I did purchase the lot on eBay, but this was not the seller. The guy I bought it from was upfront about not knowing whether the game was real or not and my bid reflected that it might not be. I was able to get some other great titles out of the lot, which made up the value of what I purchased it for (sans the authenticity of the TCM cart). Thanks for the info though.

 

I will look at the cart tonight regarding the grips and white boards (which I imagine you can see from the bottom of the cart without opening it). Also, were the labels glossy or not on the originals? This could help.

[+Psionic]

Also, were the labels glossy or not on the originals? This could help.

 

No, they weren't glossy.

 

This is what an original TCM cartridge looks like. You can see the textured grip area mentioned above on the sides of the cartridge. Reproduction copies of TCM are almost always in standard Atari cartridge casings (i.e. like any standard Asteroids or Pac-Man cartridge).

[Gorfy]

Also, if there's a small head on the front label, then it's a Hozer reproduction

[Shinju]

The board should be almost like an off white and it would be an Apollo AP200 board inside,

 

Scroll down to post 2.

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/131498-halloween-2600/

[Stan]

The board should be almost like an off white and it would be an Apollo AP200 board inside,

 

Scroll down to post 2.

 

http://www.atariage....halloween-2600/

 

I believe that's only for the non-label Halloween carts.

[+Psionic]

I believe that's only for the non-label Halloween carts.

 

All Wizard cartridges were made with Apollo PCBs.

[Algus]

I had Albert make me a Halloween repro a couple years ago. Posted some pics in the topic below if you want to see what a decent fake looks like. You can tell because it has a regular case (no ridges).

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?/topic/184600-AtariAge's-replica-carts-are-top-notch!

 

And now I'm reminded I never did get that Texas Chainsaw repro I wanted.

[+Psionic]

And now I'm reminded I never did get that Texas Chainsaw repro I wanted.

 

Well, now's your chance...

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 221195952221

[+Gemintronic]

If you see the words Hozer on the cart label you know it's a real fake: Hozer doesn't mark his reproductions.

[SoulBlazer]

If you see the words Hozer on the cart label you know it's a real fake: Hozer doesn't mark his reproductions.

 

You mean mark with words, right? He does use that face.

[Algus]

Well, now's your chance...

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 221195952221

 

Oh man, I remember when Albert was asking for better scans of Halloween and TCM's labels. So that's what he wanted them for.

 

Does he put the melody board in the repros he sells on eBay?

[+Gemintronic]

You mean mark with words, right? He does use that face.

 

Oh! Then people should stop complaining about him making any old reproduction. I was trying to make a joke. If he does mark his work then he's just as reputable as anyone else.