Quick guide to Arcade bootlegs - 56k warning

[AB Positive]

Arcade collecting has one small drawback, especially in the Neo-MVS scene, is the existance of bootlegs. There are tons out there and maybe this would be a helpful thread for those looking to start.

Now, I'm only knowledgable with the MVS stuff but if you have some good tips for those looking into Naomi, CPS2/3, and other multi game boards bring along some knowledge.


Now, to what I know:


MVS

MVS carts are real easy to check if it's a boot... once you have it in your hands. However on eBay or other places it's hard to tell if it's real or not. In this case, ALWAYS ask the seller if they have pics of the inner boards.

If you want to know if your cart is real or boot, follow these simple illustrated instructions:



The MVS Cart, a Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 cart in this instance. Notice the label, this is how a normal MVS game should look label-wise. Some legit carts will have redone labels so make sure to ask a seller about an odd label. Biggest tipoff, how the "MVS" on the side of the label looks. Make sure it's just like that as that's the official SNK logo for MVS.


To open a cart and inspect is real easy. You simply need a phillips head screwdriver and knowledge of how to avoid static shocks.

First off locate the four screws in the casing. They're all on the same side and are a regular phillips head screw, like this:



simply put the screwdriver in and take them out one at a time



Keep the screws handy but all four are of the same size, no need to remember which went in which hole. Now very gently lift from the connector-side of the cart with the label away from you. Try not to let the case go all the way up and over because this will crease the label (if you want to keep the label nice and crease free).



Now you're free to inspect the top board, the easiest way to see if the cart is a boot or legit. You're looking for three things... or should I say two things and a total lack of the third.


1) SNK logo on the board



Could be anywhere on the top of the board but if you see it, 90% of the time this is a real cart. Very few bootleggers use SNK boards because it's cheaper to find knockoff boards to use. If you see this you're almost in the clear


2) "Solid" roms



This is a 'solid' rom as opposed to an EEPRom which has a hole in the center. Bootleggers will often use EEProms and put electrical tape over the hole to keep it free from UV rays. if you see all solid roms and the SNK logo, proceed to the cleanup section as you're set.

If you see the logo and you see some EEProms and some solid roms, you're most likely ok as well. Sometimes SNK would use EEPRoms to repair damaged rom carts


3) Bad soldiering/wires everywhere


Take a look at this pic from our legit cart:



see any wires? Nope! That's a good thing. If you see a mess of badly soldiered wires or just bad soldiering in general that's a bad sign. the wires are how bootleggers take generic knockoff boards and reroute the lay lines so that the game will (sort of) work properly. If you see no wires, you're clear!

Now again, sometimes SNK would use wiring to repair carts but this was normally kept at a minimum (2-5 wires). So if you see a couple EEPRoms and a wire or two but the label and board both look legit, you very well may be ok.



Alternate - Casing


There are many different cases out there for MVS games. Many titles hav e specific colors pertaining to them and often a miscolored game is another tipoff to a boot cart (SvC cart and KoF 2003 cart are both legit if black... a clear cart is usually a boot made from their PCB form).


One EXCEPTION to this rule - the japanese rental cart.



This is a Magical Drop II, normally a black cart. I have this white form with the engraved "SNK G" on the side. I was worried this was a boot but everything inside looked 100% legit. These are specific 'rental' versions of MVS carts that Japanese coin-op owners could use to see if a specific game would do well in their arcade. Don't be afraid if you see an old-ish (pre-97) game in a white casing like this, it should be OK if everything else checks out.



Cleanup


Now simply reclose the case so that it closes just right, find the empty holes...



put the screws back in and you're done!


Now you know what to look for when you ask retailers and eBay sellers for how the boards look. Also, you can now check your own collection for bootlegs.





Anyone got info on CPS2/Naomi/CPS3 boots? Atomiswave also might come under the scrutiny of bootleggers down the line. Anyone with info, just put it up here!


-AG

[Cmosfm]

Nice Adam G, very helpful. I'm pretty good at spotting bootlegs, but I'm new to the MVS scene so I did learn something.

I have a white cart Japanese KoF 96, and was wondering why it was white. Now I know, and its much cooler to me now cause I know it was a rental! Got that off the ol eBay for a whopping 12.50 shipped.

I have a clear WindJammers, a boot from a PCB? hmm, care to elaborate on that one?

You wouldn't by chance have any pics of actual bootleg carts would you, just for referance?

[ClubNinja]

The ever so handy Bootleg Fighters Gallery:

http://www.jamma.nl/gallery/bootlegs

A clear case does *not* mean a bootleg, Cmosfm - only in some cases. Windjammers is supposed to have a clear case.

Also, one thing about labels - there are some English labels that are put on Japanese carts after market in Asia. So, while a cheesy fake label is a pretty good tip-off, it isn't *always* the final word. Here's an example:

http://gis.net/~bertulli/mvscart1.jpg

See the Art of Fighting 3 in the upper left? Completely legit cart inside. That label style is very common to find, so don't immediately put off carts like that as boots until you see their guts.

[Cmosfm]

Thanks ClubNinja! that was also helpful.

But...is that BUBBLE WRAP lining your shelf?

[ClubNinja]

But...is that BUBBLE WRAP lining your shelf?

Yup.

[chadtower]

You should see what Captain Picasso McToot uses for bed sheets if you think the bubble wrap on the shelf is silly.

[AB Positive]

Many different carts have different colors, but usually it's the same throughout. Samurai Shodown II (english) is almost always a clear case. The japanese Garou: Mark of the Wolves is usually seen in a turquoise case (and interestingly enough, many of these were made from early proto-boards and will have some SNK-wire-EEProm repairs inside. Puzzle Bobble is also guilty of this).

So it's not always a hard rule. More like early tipoffs.

also, a seller known as MD Game Sales is often known to replace real bad labels with their own style, these are not boots, just MD GameSales trying to make the carts look better.


If I impart any knowledge to you folk, do NOT BUY FROM JAPHEI/CAROLES-COLLECTABLES! Very well known bootlegger/scammer and his bad rep is well advertised on the n-g.com boards. Stay away at all costs. Apparently he's now into AES conversion games

-AG

[leonk]

Adam,

great post! Just want to clerify something about the actual terminology used.

There are 2 major types of rewritable memory chips that can be used:

EEPROM & EPROM.

EEPROM look like the regular ROMs and do not have a clear window. EPROM do. The extra E stands for Electrically, the rest stands for Erasable Read-Only Memory.

EPROM needs UV light to erase the chip, EEPROM has extra circuitry onboard to erase itself, and can be erased in the programmer. So EEPROM doesn't have a window.