Help Shut Down Pirated Gameboy Advance Game Sellers On Ebay

[fwacce]

As many of you know, there are way too many Hong Kong sellers on eBay selling pirated GBA games. After speaking with eBay regarding this issue, they said that only Nintendo can get those auctions pulled. So, I spoke with Nintendo, and they do have a department setup to handle this issue.

They have an email address:

auctionpiracy@noa.nintendo.com

Simply email them the auction site, in this case it would be eBay, and the auction number. They will take care of the rest.

Why should you care? Because these pirated carts are very substandard. They tend to fail after a few months of operation, especially the save function. Even if you know not to buy from Hong Kong sellers, many parents out there buying games for their children do not. It would be nice to help them out.

Bear in mind that not all pirated game sellers are in Hong Kong. Some are in Canada, and even a few in the USA. You can usually tell right away when they are selling a flat box with their games, but here lately they have been selling the cart only as used to try and look more reputable. If you're not sure, go ahead and report the auction and let Nintendo decide.

[Toireht]

Thanks man, i have been wanting for so long to get these bullshit auctions off ebay.

[My Name Is BoB]

It takes me forever to sort through all the crap now, so I usually don't even check the gameboy advance auctions anymore. Getting ripped off once was enough for me.

[minos1067]

so the only way to find out is if we take the cart apart and the chip bears the NINTENDO mark? cuz that sucks if mine don't have it.

[goldengraham]

Don't bother going through all that trouble. What you can do is hold the cart upside down, with label facing yourself. Proceed to look down at the freen part of the chip and you should see an upside down "Nintendo" there.

so the only way to find out is if we take the cart apart and the chip bears the NINTENDO mark? cuz that sucks if mine don't have it.

[breakin2]

I got burned on that once. Pissed me off.

[My Name Is BoB]

What you can do is hold the cart upside down, with label facing yourself. Proceed to look down at the freen part of the chip and you should see an upside down "Nintendo" there.

Wow, you guys got nice counterfeits. Mine don't even fit in the system correctly, and they also have a save error 10% of the time.

[eldad9]

Why should you care? Because these pirated carts are very substandard. They tend to fail after a few months of operation, especially the batteries.

Huh?

Which GBA games have batteries?

[defender]

excellent work

[My Name Is BoB]

Huh?

Which GBA games have batteries?

All the games that can save.

[bob_the_goon]

Why should you care? Because these pirated carts are very substandard. They tend to fail after a few months of operation, especially the batteries.

Huh?

Which GBA games have batteries?

Anything that saves without the password system.

[fwacce]

Why should you care? Because these pirated carts are very substandard. They tend to fail after a few months of operation, especially the batteries.

Huh?

Which GBA games have batteries?

I assumed any game that saves has one like other cart games. Are GBA games solid state like memory cards? Or do they have an actual battery?

[coolcps]

On ebay some sellers even list that its made by Nintondo, they should just be banned from ebay right away.

[eldad9]

Why should you care? Because these pirated carts are very substandard. They tend to fail after a few months of operation, especially the batteries.

Huh?

Which GBA games have batteries?

I assumed any game that saves has one like other cart games. Are GBA games solid state like memory cards? Or do they have an actual battery?

GBA games typically use SRAM / EPROM / Flash (did I miss anything? let me know), but no batteries.

Since your claim about the batteries failing is obviously false, how do I know that the claim about failing after few months is true? Did you personally own a non-original cart that failed after a few months, or are you just assuming things the way you did with the batteries?

[eldad9]

Really, I'm fine with "you should report these auctions since nintendo deserves to make money of these games and the hong kong guys don't", but not with "you should report these auctions because last year a pirate cart exploded and blinded an eight-year-old girl".

[fwacce]

Why should you care? Because these pirated carts are very substandard. They tend to fail after a few months of operation, especially the batteries.

Huh?

Which GBA games have batteries?

I assumed any game that saves has one like other cart games. Are GBA games solid state like memory cards? Or do they have an actual battery?

GBA games typically use SRAM / EPROM / Flash (did I miss anything? let me know), but no batteries.

Since your claim about the batteries failing is obviously false, how do I know that the claim about failing after few months is true? Did you personally own a non-original cart that failed after a few months, or are you just assuming things the way you did with the batteries?

First of all, my claim about the batteries was incorrect in the sense that they use solid state memory to save the game. However, they do fail to save quite often, which is in the same vein.

Second, if you can't see the problem with these sellers in general, there isn't much I can do for you. If you need a reason to report them, just make one up and go with it. It doesn't matter what the reason is, it needs to be done. Just ask others on this board who have been ripped off by these guys and see how they feel about your hair-splitting.

[tdphillips]

It seems a lot of the Castlevania games are pirated because of their rarity. I've noticed these since I have been looking for AoS lately.

[BigHow]

Yeah, it took me a long time to find a copy of HoD on eBay. I waited until I found a US seller with a medium amount of feedback, plus a fully constructed box. Thankfully, that gamble paid off.

I'm almost tempted to email Nintendo with the entire Tactics Ogre search page. I'm guessing there are maybe 5 legit auctions there.

[Querjek]

Hey, you guys, just so you know, some GBA games DO use batteries, and some pirates do because they're cheaper to make than other save methods.

[doraemonkerpal]

just make sure you know it's fake before you e-mail nintendo. it would suck to ruin somebody's auction if they weren't fake games :lol:

btw, i support the "get rid of fake games on ebay" movement! :applause:

[eldad9]

Hey, you guys, just so you know, some GBA games DO use batteries, and some pirates do because they're cheaper to make than other save methods.

Again: which GBA games use batteries? can you name at least one title?

[fwacce]

Hey, you guys, just so you know, some GBA games DO use batteries, and some pirates do because they're cheaper to make than other save methods.

Again: which GBA games use batteries? can you name at least one title?

According to this site:

http://www.devrs.com/gba/files/gbadevfaqs.php#BackupTypes

there indeed are some games that use a battery.

Hopefully that will put the issue to rest and we can get back on topic. Even if the piraters used proper battery saves, they still need to be reported.

eBay specifically told me that if Nintendo contacts them and asks for auctions to be pulled, they will do it with no questions asked. The seller then has the opportunity to appeal the case, but eBay states that they very rarely do since companies generally won't ask for legitimate auctions to be pulled. Nintendo, and other companies, have to sing a VeRO agreement that includes a section on responsibility. Nintendo can't just go around asking for auctions to be pulled they don't like. There must actually be a copyright violation.

Obviously, there's no need to start a witch hunt, but it really is fairly obvious which ones are fake. Besides, go ahead and report them and let Nintendo make the final decision. Again, the decision can always be appealed if it's a real cart. It's not like they go to jail lol, they just get the auction pulled. Now, if it continues to happen, eBay will shut down the account, which is the ultimate goal.

[eldad9]

Thank you for the SRAM information. I stand corrected - but I'd still like to know if the failure rate for the copies is lower than the originals.

However, game companies WILL ask for legitimate auctions to be pulled. That, of course, depends on your definition of legitimate. SEGA asked ebay to pull my auction for saturn stuff, including a cart that had four uses, one of which was to allow playing imports.

Of course, it is illegal to use that feature in the states.

[Shadows916]

illegal to uae them in the states? there are a bunch of places that mod systems in the states. microsoft went after a couple, and all cases were dropped. modding is "frowned apon", but no illegal. I bought my psxchange disc from a u.s games seller, and some mod chips. I for one do not frown on backups and imports (disc based games). The gba carts though, is a diffrent story(wondering why there were so many copies of shining force for sale, cart only when i can't find this game used anyware). Thanks for the headsup on this-i'll be sure to stay away from ebay for my gba games

[CheapyD]

Thanks, good stuff.

[MauMauProductions]

I emailed them...Although at the prices some of the games are Im glad theres pirates. Remeber when Tactics ogre, a great game was selling $50 and the pirates were $10 just so I can play a great game...it was worth it.

[Wshakspear]

um...Donky Kong Country 2...for GBA? (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=62053&item=8118916 639&rd=1&tc=photo)

Did they even make this normally?

[eldad9]

um...Donky Kong Country 2...for GBA? (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=62053&item=8118916 639&rd=1&tc=photo)

Did they even make this normally?

Just because a particular title wasn't released in your country doesn't mean it doesn't exist

Yes, the game is published by nintendo, it has been released, people own it; in short, it exists.

[eldad9]

illegal to uae them in the states? there are a bunch of places that mod systems in the states. microsoft went after a couple, and all cases were dropped. modding is "frowned apon", but no illegal. I bought my psxchange disc from a u.s games seller, and some mod chips. I for one do not frown on backups and imports (disc based games). The gba carts though, is a diffrent story(wondering why there were so many copies of shining force for sale, cart only when i can't find this game used anyware). Thanks for the headsup on this-i'll be sure to stay away from ebay for my gba games

Circumventing technological measures that control access to copyrighted material is illegal in the states. Just because a law isn't enforced does not mean it doesn't exist.

Do you think police in North Carolina make it a priority to arrest couples living in sin? No, they don't. It's illegal; it's a law that should be struck down; it's not enforced.

[Drocket]

As was previously said, real GBA games don't use battery saves (except for a couple of the first games released for the system.) Pirated games, though, almost always use battery save systems, simply because its cheaper and they don't care if the game fails. One easy way to tell for sure if a game was pirated is to open it up and check out the inside. Of course, that's a lot of work, so fortunately, there are a lot of easier signs of pirated games:

1) All official Nintendo games SHOULD say 'Pat. Pending Made in Japan' on the back. Most pirated games do not. If it doesn't say this, its pretty much definitely a pirated cart.

2) Pirated games are usually the wrong color. Compare the color of the cart to games that you know are real. Pirated games are usually a darker shade of grey. Games that Nintendo has released in 'special' colors (red, blue, yellow, whatever) are often still grey when pirated, and even if they are colorized, they're usually way off

3) If you look inside the end of the cart (where it plugs into the GBA), there should be some assorted codes in there (the code varies by game.) Most pirated carts don't bother with this detail.

4) Most pirated carts don't quite fit into the GBA as well (usually tight)

5) Most instruction booklets of pirated games are incomplete. If the game says something like "See page 37 for more information about your inventory" and the booklet ends at page 16 - you have a pirated cart.

6) Most boxes for pirated games are wrong. Check out EBGames.com (because they show you the front and back of the box) to compare. Note that this isn't an absolutely reliably test: Nintendo sometimes changes the box.

[Wshakspear]

...yeah, thanks for the info. DUH.

I know there are games that appear elsewhere before here. I more or less was getting to the point of this being an "American" release, according to the auction.

[rumblebear]

You could usually tell a pirated gba by the cart quality. All the pirated copies I've gotten from ebay have really poor/light plastic covering.

Also don't forget the fact that some pirated gba games cut down levels, sounds, etc. in order to fit into a cheaper cart that holds less data. I.e. like a tv channel cutting a 2 hour movie down to only 45 minutes :evil: For instance one of the pirated yoshi's island copy I got from ebay does not have the first introduction level. That's all I noticed before I immediatly returned the game and demanded a refund.

[HYDE]

Jeez - I just checked out auctions on eBay for Aria of Sorrow and now I'm livid! I had no idea it was this bad, and quite frankly, this accepted. To think that there could be that many sellers selling fakes without eBay stepping in, in -any- sort of capacicty, is ridiculous.

I don't buy the "how do you know" argument. Look at the base price, look at the listers location, look at the auctions vauge descriptions, lack of real pictures, etc... it's quite clear to me.

I remember seeing fake car performance parts and emailing the original companies (in this case, Trust/Greddy) to let them know people were using their name (and in some cases, on products they didn't even make!). The auctions were down shortly after.

It's buyer beware, but I do think eBay should police things brought to their attention a little better. It's like Kazaa being sued for what people trade. Who's really at fault? Is this much different?

[eldad9]

...yeah, thanks for the info. DUH.

I know there are games that appear elsewhere before here. I more or less was getting to the point of this being an "American" release, according to the auction.

The box image showed the european packaging.

[CaseyRyback]

thanks OP. I just sent an e-mail to the NOA legal team on a matter of piracy(needed to be reminded to do so, and this post was a great reminder)

[fwacce]

Bump

[Bune]

After speaking with eBay regarding this issue, they said that only Nintendo can get those auctions pulled.

so then why the warning from ebay when you post an auction that says something about potential infringment? They can't enforce/not enforece at the same time. weird double talk standards, I guess.

[fwacce]

After speaking with eBay regarding this issue, they said that only Nintendo can get those auctions pulled.

so then why the warning from ebay when you post an auction that says something about potential infringment? They can't enforce/not enforece at the same time. weird double talk standards, I guess.

eBay is the one that pulls the auctions, but not without Nintendo telling them to. It all comes down to liability.

[fwacce]

^^^

[silverandcold]

I just bought a Fire Red Pokemon gameboy advance game for my nephew off ebay. The auction said that the item location was in the United States. I got the game and it is in Japanese but it says U.S. Version on the game. I emailed the guy and he said for me to send it back to him and he would replace it. But he lives in Hong Kong. Is this a pirated game? It looks just like all his other gameboy advance games.

[My Name Is BoB]

I just bought a Fire Red Pokemon gameboy advance game for my nephew off ebay. The auction said that the item location was in the United States. I got the game and it is in Japanese but it says U.S. Version on the game. I emailed the guy and he said for me to send it back to him and he would replace it. But he lives in Hong Kong. Is this a pirated game? It looks just like all his other gameboy advance games.

Post a link to the auction. It's probably pirated. Did it come with the wireless link?

[silverandcold]

NO it didnt come with a wireless thing..heres the link

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8126393170

Do you think it is pirated? and is there anything i can do to try and get my money back?

[Drocket]

If it came with the wireless adapter, it may be real. If it didn't, pretty much 100% guaranteed its fake. eBay is currently absolutely clogged with pirated Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen carts right now. I don't know if you could find a real copy on there if you tried.

My personal favorites are the auctions that try to explain why they're selling the game without the wireless adapter. My personal favorite was a guy who said that he bought the game, played it all the way through (this was like 2 days after the game was released) and was now selling it, but he had lost the wireless adapter. If you took a look at his other autions, you couldn't help to notice but that he had 20+ copies of each game up for sale.

Yes, that's right: In 2 days, he beat 40+ different copies of Pokemon, and somehow managed to lose the wireless adapter for all of them. Yep, sounds completely plausible to me.

[Drocket]

Do you think it is pirated?
Yep, its pirated.

is there anything i can do to try and get my money back?
You may be able to scare the seller into giving you a refund by threatening to report them to the police/FBI/Nintendo/whatever. Generally, that'll only work if they're stupid and/or new at the pirated cart business. The 'professional' sellers know they're virtually untouchable, so they just jump from eBay account to eBay account.

[punqsux]

you have to wonder if nintendo even cares about this problem.

i mean if they cared they could pay someone 6$ an hour a few hours a day to sit and compile a list of hk auctions and fwd that list to ebay.

it just seems like they dont care or dont want to deal with the problem.

[silverandcold]

My sister-inlaw won the auction. Then i paid with my paypal. I would have never bid on it.It was a gift for my 8 year old nephew. After i paid for it i looked at his feedback. He keeps emailing my sister in law acting like he cant speak english very well.

[Trakan]

This Ebay seller sounds like a real ass. Punqsux is right though, Nintendo doesn't give 2 shits about it, otherwise there would be a stop to it.

[EggViper]

these people should definetly be taken off of ebay, i have bought a gba game in the past which turned out to be a fake. It saved games usually but after a little while it'd loose the info and u would have to start a new file. The translation was also horrible, lots of engrish ("not cut power! Saving!" o and "monstor balls obtained" (wtf?))

still i don't think v should just start sending emails about anyone v might THINK is pirating because that could ruin somebodys good business. unless ur 100% sure the guy is a pirate, don't assume.

[MorPhiend]

Yeah, that Pokémon game is most definitely pirated. Get your money back and then report him.

[mytoy333]

Because of all the pirated GBA games, I will not even consider selling any-too much hassle. My wholesaler (a legitimate company) gets a great price on them. It is a shame too.

[silverandcold]

The guy told me if i send it back to him he will replace it with an original. He said he will also reimburse me for the shipping money..Hopefully he wont just send me another fake..

[Reality's Fringe]

For some reason, Nintendo is more concerned about shutting down sites who distribute SNES roms then going after someone selling fake cartridges for a viable platform. I can't understand it, but I still love Nintendo!

[MorPhiend]

The guy told me if i send it back to him he will replace it with an original. He said he will also reimburse me for the shipping money..Hopefully he wont just send me another fake..

He possibly will send you a real one, but only because he doesn't want to be reported and shut down. I'd get my money back and shut him down so that he doesn't do this to others.

[Wet Ninja]

Heads up for anyone trying to buy GBA games on eBay: I believe the seller mosaka (http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=mosaka&iid=81338 97244&frm=284) sells bootlegs. It isn't obvious because he's located in Canada. If you look through his feedback though, several people mentioned receiving bootlegs from him. Also, the games are usually Buy It Now and really cheap. Just a heads up that not all bootlegs are from Hong Kong.

[fwacce]

[Skaera75b]

I bought this game off eBay in April, here is the link.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260109758098

The booklet is incomplete, there are no codes or upside-down nintendo on the freen, and it deletes my save file every time i try to trade with colosseum, which is just beyond enfuriating. it came in a flat pack box, as it says, and the picture of the box provided is different to what i recieved- but that might not mean anything. cartridge fits perfectly. it plays quite slowly at times, and the screen is always too dark.

i only got it so i could trade. do you think it could be a fake?

thank you.

[Dro]

^ Its fake

[Skaera75b]

thanks for responding... i thought so too. what is it about it which makes you believe it's fake?

[scott2hotcott]

thanks for responding... i thought so too. what is it about it which makes you believe it's fake?

My guess would be the following:

1. The booklet is incomplete.
2. It constantly deletes your save file.
3. The picture of the box is the U.S. version, not the U.K. version.
4. It plays too slow.
5. The screen is too dark.

That sounds like a whole big mess of fake to me.

[guinaevere]

:applause:

Great thread, OP.

[foxdvd]

I wish people like Nintendo cared more about this. If I worked for them, I could help find and shut down these guys left and right. It is almost like they just chalk it up to shrinkage...