I bought 3 sealed Nintendo DS games on Facebook market place whilst I was in the US and someone on Twitter told me they looked fake... Let's find out! #Nintendo #TheRetroFuture #DS
@@Puretea4711 Are you sure though? I bought it back in 2013 (Just checked) and has the exact same Nintendo seal in the middle - Looks absolutely legit, has a heavy manual inside. Elliotts games look actually fake, mine looks 100% real.
You are just that one dude on earth that buys overpriced nintendo products, when they sold them in shops with 5-10$, but you are not stupid, you are making these videos and get so much money you can buy a full store, good for you, stupid people like us watch you, and give you that money because of views, bravo.
Yes, they are pretty cheap and available nowadays. I definitely don't buy all my blu rays at Best buy and return them unopened "because my wife didn't want to watch it" After ripping the disc. That would be immor(t)al.
@@Boogie_the_catsame energy as my dad buying the same door handle just to return the old one in the new box saying my mom didn't like how it looked, knowing they're gonna throw that shit away or put it on clearance 😭
I can confirm that seal wasn't real, I cleared out Target when DS games where getting discontinued for $5 each and none of them have a Nintendo seal on them.
The Nintendo seal got added with the design change of the box, which happened with the 3DS games. 3DS game boxes are bigger, thinner and rounder. Nintendo put more effort into presenting the games for the 3DS lineup.
I was huge on the DS when it came out and have about 75 boxed games all bought retail when they were released and I've also never seen that kind of seal, even once. Not on my 3DS games either.
@@CompletelyAverageGameplayThe box Elliot opened looked so thin for some reason. The Original Nintendo Seal of Quality label is oval while the original is circular
@@sakurojason Nintendo’s Seal of Quality in America has been oval since the ‘80s. Only the earliest ones were circular. Most of the early NES games that had circular seals were reprinted with the oval one and are more common with the oval seal.
I got half scammed once with a DS game on ebay. It was a copy of Pokemon Diamond. The pictures of the case were outstanding, and I could tell that it was authentic. I knew what to look for. But when I got it in the mail, the very authentic case held a clone cartridge. Much to my surprise, the seller said I could keep the whole thing. I didn't pay much for it anyhow, so I guess they figured it wasn't worth the hassle of shipping back. So I went and found a loose authentic copy of Diamond on ebay and put it in my authentic case.
@@Graceleus No it was used. It turned out someone had stuck a clone game in an original case. My best guess is they either broke or lost their original copy, and got the clone on ebay or somewhere else. I'm 100% sure the case is legit. Without a shadow of a doubt. But the game was fakity fake fake. When I asked the seller for an explanation, he gave me an explanation that I don't want to repeat here. It was kind of personal, and it sounded legit. Then poof, that refund popped up.
There is usually one dead giveaway to tell if a DS cartridge is fake at first glance. On the front of the sticker, there will be a serial number in the bottom corner. It's made up of 3 different parts. The first will almost always be NTR, which stands for Nitro because I believe that was the DS's development name. There are some times when there is another code, I can't remember what that is but it does not come up often anyways. Then there are 4 random characters, then the region code. USA, JPN, EUR, etc. There is also a separate serial number printed on the back of the cartridge. The first four characters of the one on the back will always be the middle four characters from the one in the front. Obviously this would not be too helpful if it is a sealed game and these are pretty good fakes so they may have that right, but it's a really good way to tell if a game is legit or not
The Gen5 Pokémon Games (at leat the EU Version) have TWL instead of NTR at the beginning. And basically every Pokémon game doesn't end with EUR but with NOE instead, some Layton games I have end in NOE aswell. So it's not always that clear.
I remember years ago I was buying new games on eBay, and it occurred to me that I was essentially paying a premium just for a bit of cellophane that I was only going to rip off and throw away. I wondered if an unscrupulous person might just be able to rewrap the DVD cases and sell used items as "new" just to earn that extra cash, but I figured the branded strip along the plastic would be what prevented that. Now I can see that people can actually fake that too, and even wrap non-standard size cases. Yikes.
I bought an unopened copy of white 2 only because I'm a dumb ocd germaphobe that didn't like the idea of buying a copy that was touched by some grubby handed kid before me lol. I haven't played it yet, but so far the cart looks legit. I almost thought about buying an unopened soul silver next because for similar reasons but honestly I think i'll just get a regular preopened soul silver cib and wipe the game and inserts down gently with a wipe😅
America has never had that on their shrink wrap. I have like 750 ds/3ds games and a decent amount sealed but never seen that on any of my sealed games.
@@packers12to80 I only have 2 sealed DS games, both European copies - One has the middle seal with Nintendo printed on it (2009 game) and the other does not (2005 game). 3DS wasn't out till 2011, so was this a thing just done on latter DS European games? (then obviously on 3DS too)
Sorry for that. Thanks for sharing. I don't collect sealed DS games cause there is a lot of copies out there. Only opened and checked by me before purchase. And preferably NINTENDO games. They had the very difficult Brilliant Logo to copy in the manual, specific staples and many other points in the cartridge.
I noticed that too and made a comment about it, at first I thought it might be CEX or GAME, but I don't think they are allowed to reseal games...I think you are correct, its amazon 👍🏻
The game is fake but the Amazon sticker is irrelevant. That's just an Amazon inventory barcode sticker that some third party sellers use instead of the UPC.
One time on vacation I went to the Walmart nearby my hotel and found 2 sealed copies of Where the wild things are and Wonderpets on the DS out of all games
a pharmacy near my house had a video game section that hadnt changed since 2010, they had two copies of rhythm haven on the ds for only $12! but they recently closed
I'm so mad at Nintendo for closing the Wii and 3ds eShop before I even knew about rhythm heaven. I want to give them money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At least rerelease megamix on the switch or something!! And I'm mad they never released a physical copy of the American version
I'm not as knowledgable as others when it comes to sealed games, but from experience, I've never seen any DS games sealed with a Nintendo seal like that before. Also, when opened, I always remember for DS games, there should at least be a Club Nintendo paper (usually on top of the manual) slotted in with the manual so that itself sealed it for me that this is a counterfeit. Not too sure when stopped slipping in Club Nintendo codes, so I may be wrong.
club nintendo not mynintendo code and red case was a rerelease later in the consoles era to help shoppers during the holidays find fan favorite games in the nintendo lineup for those who are unaware of games. (typically parents buying for kids)
@@IkaNyan404 It depends on when they were printed. For Mario Kart DS they were just registration PIN codes at first. It became Club Nintendo in 2008 and later rebooted as My Nintendo.
@@HouseOfFunQM American Mario Kart DS launched with the standard “Register Now!” PIN code, no magnesium scratch-off. They could copy that one and the standard black case.
I bought a copy of animal crossing knowing it was a knockoff, what pissed me off is it’s the European version in the USA box, all the decimal points are commas 😅
I got the 3 Castlevania games for DS, without the boxes or anything, $50 for all 3. I figured they were bootlegs but they at least work. The reason i went along with it though, was that i had been wanting to play them, on the original hardware. Like while sitting in a car or out on a trip. And i found a 3DS for under $100, only thing really wrong with it was a broken thumb stick. Still worked, thumb stick was ridiculously easy to replace. Screen is flawless because it didn't come with a stylus. Maybe they lost it. But i mean, I'm not completely against these bootlegs. Unless they're trying to sell them at full collectors price, intending to fool people like that. If the quality is at least decent enough for a low price, it's just an alternative product. I'm not rich. Some games increased a LOT in value, and when this is the only way to play them. Other than modding your system or emulation. There are some extremely good games stuck on the DS and 3DS, i wish there were more options, there just isn't. I strongly support preservation so this topic is a little complicated.
For what it’s worth, I’ve gotten multiple games for different systems brand new at launch directly from Amazon that had little tabs inside for booklets, cartridges, and discs broken, apparently due to being endlessly shaken during shipping. Just something to consider, albeit there are a lot of other issues in this particular case. Thanks for all you do!
Not as fragile as NES and SNES and N64's. It drives me nuts that Nintendo refused to make plastic cases when all the while Sega didn't skimp out on them.
@@ChicagoMel23 Financial domination is a fetish. some people actually get off on having someone very transparently draining their bank accounts instead of their balls.
Collector of sealed DS/3DS games I bought at retail in US Only time I ever encountered the Nintendo strip was on European versions (namely Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland which I got from a store with imports, and I think one advance wars title) This is why I don’t buy from second hand market.
Those red EU seal strip is legit though specially on adv wars and tingly's rose, i can confirm im from EU. Some other variants have clearstrip and others have the very same seal strip as seen in this video.
Yeah, from moment one I knew they were fake., and SM64DS and Mario Kart DS doubly so. I'm no expert, but the red flags I noticed were: 1) ESRB logo means it's a north american release, but the Nintendo strip implies a european release. You can't have both. 2) SM64DS and MKDS both have red cases. I have never seen a red case DS game in the US. Maybe they exist in other regions? 3) There's always an ESRB descriptor on the back of the case, even if it's an E-rated game with no descriptors. That MKDS case had none. 4) The front covers for SM64DS and MKDS do look slightly darker, tho that may be my monitor. And then when you opened the case there were so many more things. The game, the broken hinge, the offset "Nintendo DS" logo on the Health and Safety pamphlet, the lack of a space for a GBA game (every north american DS game case has a spot to store a GBA game above where the DS game goes)... So thanks for this video. It really shows how some people just try to pass off bootleg games as legit. Like, I wouldn't have a problem it they clearly said it was a reproduction, but the seller didn't.
I was going to ask about the lack of space for a GBA game. The few original cases I've seen have it but I didn't know if later variations omitted the slot.
You say fake I say *Reproduction* I mean- If they went through the trouble to make the box, seal It, put a manual In there and a cartridge as long as It works and they aren't claiming It to be legit this could be a good thing for people wanting DS game but don't want to pay collector prices
They're fake. Deal with it. Reproduction or not, they're still counterfeit, and they still actively harm the used market. Also, most sellers claim they're legitimate, so that argument is a moot point. If people just want to play the game (not that Mario Kart DS or such is all that expensive anyway), get a flashcard like an R4 instead. You're not entitled to games, and certainly not to counterfeits.
Once again this guys a big Nintendo collector and I knew right away those were fakes. Never in my life have I seen a sealed DS game with Nintendo logos on the wrap.
I'm just wondering are you buying them to play? Are you buying them to collect ? Or are you just buying them to turn around and resell for a higher price?
Even at $20 a unit, that's a lot of work to put into reproducing a knockoff working cartridge, manual, and box. If the cart properly saves the game, perhaps not that horrible of a deal. Would have been nice to be labeled reproduction, which I'm sure they didn't to avoid legal issues.
I don't recall ever seeing a sealed plastic cover with a pull tab like that in the middle in Canada. Was that a common thing for the DS? Plus I never saw Nintendo printed on the plastic itself.
If I recall correctly, the Health & Safety booklet was included with every DS game, while the Wi-Fi booklet was included with every DS game that used Wi-Fi, so those could have easily been grabbed from a third-party game. As for the case, Nintendo sold spares on their online store, so those may be official but worn.
I'm American but living in Japan for 8 years now and this reminds me that alot of Japanese games have been getting sold recently as Sealed and they are not sealed Gameboy, Famicom, Super famicom, N64, Megadrive. Basically all the old cartridge based games come in a brown cardboard carton with the logo and name of the game and inside is 10-20 games based on what console. Those games inside the carton do not have shrink wrap or any kind of wrap on the boxes. They where never made sealed! so just in case people are wondering about seeing sales or graded Japanese games on those systems, They where never sealed. its tricky because i've even seen talk / grading companies grading them as sealed and there is no wrap. They are basically saying OH the flap on the box doesn't have any creases so it looks like its never been opened and saying its sealed... which then makes me wonder how you can say its CIB. If you are saying something is sealed bc there is no crease on the flap of the box, if the grading company opens it to check to make sure its a legit CIB well then now its been opened. This is just a mess. So be careful people!
Opening any cardboard box even a single time stresses the hinge enough to leave a visible colour break. Even on white boxes, you can spot it when viewing up close- especially if you look at it under any degree of magnification. It is strange to see "unopened" games getting sold for such a massive premium, but at the very least you *can* tell if they've never been opened/used or not.
@@370.y If you pay the price for an authentic copy, you don't want to find out that it's a fake that you could have bought for a couple of dollars. Quality is a concern too. If it's fake you just don't know how it will hold up over time, or if the game will die on you mid playthrough.
@@370.y I don't get things graded lol I feel the same way. I'm a collector and I play my games. I'm just saying in general that I have seen a lot of this recently and this video reminded me about it. So I thought I'd share a warning for those that are buying JP etc.
@@Thaane_ yeah I know this but I see tons of " sealed" listings recently and even saw some graded of Japanese games and those consoles I listed never come sealed. So thought I'd mention that bc there is a lot of weird stuff going on lately
You can knowingly buy a fake for a low price but we can't trust everyone to never pass it off as real on the resale. Like what happened here. It's business fraud. Most collectors want the real thing. Doesn't matter if the fake looks and plays exactly the same. I don't get paying extra for sealed that won't be played but I want and buy real CIB.
Sorry for that. Thank you for sharing. About eight years ago I wrote a long, highly detailed, illustrated article [in Portuguese] about counterfeit video games and how to spot all the little details, but I realize now that my article is outdated, as counterfeits have become so well made they are virtually undetectable, specially for the not well-versed audience. I mean, we are collectors, we know our stuff yet it fooled you, it could've fooled me and many others.
Another reason I'm positive those are fake is that Nintendo didn't start doing the 'removed plastic recycling logo' thing until the 3DS era as an initiative to reduce plastic waste. Also, and I'm not sure if they stopped doing this at a certain point, this lacks the GBA cart slot. I'm pretty astounded at how far they've gone to try to pass these off as real though, including the manuals and health and safety booklets (in COLOR too!). imo at a better price and full disclosure they wouldn't be too bad to have in a collection if you're ok with knowing they're fake. I'm planning to do so with my own custom repros in the future myself. Also, were MKDS and SM64DS always in red boxes? I had both games back in the day and that doesn't ring a bell at all.
@TheRetroFuture2 Are you the original owner of that DS Lite? I bought a white one off eBay about 12 years ago and was suspicious when I saw the right elbow was yellowed right out of the box, just as yours is. Wondering if that was standard issue or perhaps mine was a reconditioned one sold as new?
I’m not sure about all NTSC copies of MKDS but there’s usually ESRB information on the back bottom corner of the case art. And I don’t ever remember seeing that type of shrink wrap on any brand new legit DS game
I would stop at my local McDonald's on the way home from high school, connect to the WiFi, and play a few rounds while enjoying a McFlurry. Because my dad didn't get a WiFi router until 2006 lmfaoo.
I don’t remember seeing those Nintendo seals either. I’m so happy I held onto my old games. Just gotta hope I have them stored correctly because there would be no point if it doesn’t work anymore
I generally just want "a copy" I can play. If I _knew_ it was a repro, but everything seemed of acceptable quality at a good price, I wouldn't really care.
I commented too early because I had more to say. You're more a victim of not being in the U.S. more than anything. Not familiar. Mario Kart never came in red, and the manuals on all games have art on the front. Regular DS games were before the thin plastic days, too, and never had recycle cutouts
My way of telling a real one from a fake cartridge is the bottom half of the DS on the real one isn't square, and the sides are skewed-looking and the fakes are always a perfect square
The clone army is real. I've had my products cloned, and I had to add a firmware feature to report the correct ID so the end user can check if it's original or a copy.
I went to this flea market vendor and I was amazed that he had sealed ds games, just like this. Until I watched this video and saw it had the Nintendo strip on the seal. That guy either didn’t know what he was selling or he did and wanted to scam people. (Probably the first one)
And this (among many other reasons,) is why I don't collect sealed games. I could have easily bought these and set them on my shelf thinking they were real and I got a really good price...only to find out 10...20 years down the road that they're fake xD At-least you found out almost immediately!
Hey new here, I was just wondering why buy the sealed version of games when you can easily mod your ds and play these for free? what is the difference between collecting a physical copy and collecting a digital copy instead? PS. I have a modded 3ds so speaking from this POV
Having a sealed or boxed game can be seen as an investment and when it comes to Nintendo games they usually go up in prices, but other than that it is nice to own something cool.
If we give the seller the benefit of the doubt and believe what they said, it’s likely that these are all reproduction copies and the average person would most likely not be able to spot the difference. Reproductions like these have been sold as “sealed” new for years, some sellers are straight forward about it and others will lie knowing they won’t likely be caught.
I remember being offered some GBA games that were clearly fake. The guy in the shop in Dubai said to me they were all real. I turned one of the cartridges over and said to him "Dude, it says Nontondo."
Has anyone noticed that there’s not a free space for a GBA card ridge? On the original game, the box is thicker, it has wider clips for the paperwork and a slot for GBA card ridges.
These games are from Amazon and end up at bins stores often. Putting a real next to a fake makes it easy to see the poor quality in the front artwork. I own a whole bunch of these including Pokémon. They work great and the only scam is the pricing of the real copies. Everyone blames resellers when Nintendo can LITERALLY just produce old games and release them in stores.
I mean, I still hate resellers but I agree that Nintendo probably has the resources to re-produce old games. I mean, when smash bros ultimate came out they released a new gamecube controller lol. Heck, even other classic devs like Wayforward recently worked with Limited Run Games to produce new GBA games based off an old Shantae game they never ended up releasing. I really hope the Pokemon company does something like that too and re-releases their old games because a ton of us nostalgia nerds would eat that up (provided they're cheaper than what resellers are selling)
I just looked it up and it seems at least in EUROPE the Nintendo-Strip was a thing. But not in the US. That might explain some of the confusion about it.
I bought a sealed Mario and Luigi game on eBay that was sealed and it turned out to be fake..and it had the Nintendo seal and everything...the game would freeze up on me at a certain point in the game and i couldn't figure out why until noticed the stamped code on tne back of the cartridge was coming off and in the DS menu you didn't see a picture off the game ....I did some research and found out it was a reproduction...good thing the seller was understanding and gave me a full refund....i ended up buying a used one and it works fine..
@@polocatfan true..I should have phrased it differently haha ...I guess they made the return process easier without hesitation.. cause most sellers get their egos bruised whenever you mention anything about a reproduction
The other way you can tell that it was a fake other than that fake seal of Nintendo around it was it would have came with a Nintendo club code that you can redeem online for coins which you could get merchandise for free. Also they were not doing recycle on the plastic until the 3DS games same with the color of the box was only red for the 3ds on the Nintendo select games.
It’s unfortunate that this is being used to scam customers. I actually bought me some amazing replacement cases for some of my games. Their almost spot on.
Usually these copies f*ck up somewhere. They can get some original booklets or cases for dirt cheap. They can make some fake booklets and cases relatively well nowadays. But usually.. All goes to sh*t when you see the actual cartridge or get up real close.
I mean Mario Kart DS is 19 years old now, it's possible some guy didn't shift some of his fakes, then put a bunch of his stuff in a Storage locker, which the guy you bought it from then bought, and just didn't realise they were fakes when selling them. As in the guy that sold them to you got scammed first. (without realising it) What annoys me is when RETAIL SHOPS sell Repro's, even calling them repro's.
At this level of quality and not attempting to rip people off - assuming the games last, a 100% replica of DS Chrono Trigger for $20 wouldn't be the worst idea.
Dont feel too bad about it. At least it was a cheap leason for me. Last year i fell for a sealed Samsung S23 Ultra Fake. Took me 1 hour playing around with it to figure it out. Fakes are getting better every year. Thanks for making your find public!
