Counterfeit CBS Games

[ultrasteve]

Does anyone have any knowledge about CBS 2600 titles being counterfeit at any stage? I have received a 'new, sealed' Donkey Kong. Things that make me think this may not be genuine are:

1) Were CBS titles ever shrink-wrapped? This one shows no sign of the usual box creasing and crushing from being vacuum wrapped for so many years.
2) The printing is much, much darker than my other version.
3) There is a 'moiré' effect on the yellow 'BASED ON...' banner - this is usually seen when something that has already been printed is scanned.
4) The print is blurry, especially on the barcode compared to my other one. Also on the green badge, the small ® and TM are indistinct.
5) Look at the Donkey Kong logo at the top - the original shows a much lighter band underneath where the artwork is under the logo that has been applied on top - the one I think maybe fake has had that whole area darkened.

I suppose it's possible that a re-print was done later than 1983, but so many of these things don't ring true for me. What's everyone else's opinion?

[Albert]

Who did you buy it from?

[ultrasteve]

an eBay seller called: videogamessource

[Rom Hunter]

Looks fishy to me.

[Supergun]

eBay seller video game source & classic game source are one in the same. Theyve been around for over a decade now. They dont sell counterfeit games, per say, however they do sell re-released & re-packaged games. To understand what that means, you have to know your history first.

 

Over a decade ago, they literally purchased THOUSANDS of unsold stock & inventory from the 2600 to the neogeo from Telegames UK. Much if not most of it was factory sealed & PAL format. And since Telegames themselves were a somewhat dubious / sketchy / curious and yet allegedly completely official & authorized aftermarket re-distributor to begin with, you can see where the grey area becomes charcoal.

 

Make no mistake, I purchased some great games from them here & there over the past decade and got some great deals too. But they have over time shuffled things around and mismatched items here & there in order to move inventory. They had to in order to make back the money they paid Telegames. So keep that in mind when buying stuff from them. Most of what they sell today is in the same state as it was when Telegames was selling it. However, much of what Telegames was selling was questionable to begin with.

[high voltage]

So you're talking about Telegames USA?

[ultrasteve]

Thanks @Supergun - I think Im going to try and get a return organised for this one - your info was very useful.

[hizzy]

What does the cartridge label look like? I wonder if that is just a printing variation. Do you think that they made several runs of boxes, sometimes at different printers? That often happens with vinyl LPs.

[scitari]

How many verified counterfeit games are there?

[ultrasteve]

What does the cartridge label look like? I wonder if that is just a printing variation. Do you think that they made several runs of boxes, sometimes at different printers? That often happens with vinyl LPs.

 

This is sealed in shrink-wrap, so no idea what the cart label is like - I don't want to open it in case I end up sending it back. The problem with the printing is that it shows artefacts that would only be present from scanning. Back then, artwork would have been printed from film, so even a reprint would be of pretty much the same quality, if not ink levels.

[Schitti]

what serialnumber does your good and bad version have?

7525-9A

... and which cart is inside the open box? colored glossy label or only black/white?

 

it looks like the UK White Version.

All boxes of this series have poor quality.

Some even without inlet.

[Supergun]

Yes, precisely, as I said, its probably legit. As in its NOT counterfeit. Its just from the later end of the 80s video game era when companies cut corners & quality suffered.

 

And it is almost certainly from and for the UK/Europe area. Because that was where the stuff was sourced from.

 

(Telegames UK)

[DragonGrafx-16]

I thought it was Coleco that released Donkey Kong on the 2600?

[high voltage]

CBS, Europe and Australia distribution

[atari181]

Looks correct to me, as said before It is not a bootleg, but a poor quality printing. Not really any reason to copy such common games either.

[ls650]

I can't see anyone going to that much trouble to fake a Donkey Kong.

[ultrasteve]

I think the issue here (for me) is that if this was a Telegames version (which by all accounts it is, the seller confirmed that) then it's not an original CBS release. As far as I know, Telegames didn't have a license to manufacture CBS games. Just because a product is lithographically printed, it doesn't make it 'genuine'. No license, and not from original artwork film, makes this not 'original' for me.

[high voltage]

I think the issue here (for me) is that if this was a Telegames version (which by all accounts it is, the seller confirmed that) then it's not an original CBS release. As far as I know, Telegames didn't have a license to manufacture CBS games. Just because a product is lithographically printed, it doesn't make it 'genuine'. No license, and not from original artwork film, makes this not 'original' for me.

 

Just sell it if you're not happy with it.

[high voltage]

Whenever Telegames (UK) reproduced games, you'll fijnd their name on the back of the box

 

[high voltage]

Here's DK from US, EU, AUS: