| Ahoy There! It's The Pirates... Pirated cartridges for the GameBoy I mean. In many parts of Asia, where intellectual property rights and copyright rules are slack or almost non-existent, there thrives a lucrative market in pirated goods - chief among which, is the sale and distribution of game software in the form of compact discs and cartridges. Pirated multi-game carts
 One of the more popular of course, are pirated cartridges for the Nintendo GameBoy. In these countries, nothing is sacred, and one can find pirated carts sold and packaged exactly as the original. To add insult to injury, the pirates even release special all-in-one carts, where as many as 450 games are cramped in single plastic case. Pirated single game cartridges
 Strangely, pirated carts are are considered the norm, and most consumers will not even consider buying an original. Stranger still, is that the Nintendo offices here in Singapore do not take any action, seemingly content to supply GameBoys to shops that display them side-by-side with the pirated software. Indeed, a saying among game shop owners is that Nintendo, Sega and Sony allow the proliferation of pirated software to increases the penetration and sale of their consoles. We cannot confirm this, but looking at the current situation, it does suggest such a scenario. A game shop where pirated carts are openly displayed
 We are not here to judge the game companies or the pirates, so we won't be delving too deeply into the judicial or technical aspects of piracy. Instead, we are here to help those of you who might be visiting Asia soon, and intend to buy a few pirated GameBoy cartridges. Originals are always the best, but if you do want to buy a pirated cart, whether out of curiosity or need, we hope that you will heed the following points. Think about it, if a shop sells pirated cartridges, wouldn't it be prudent to expect the salesperson to want to rip you off too! 1) Many electronic shops that sell GameBoys to tourists advertise them at ridiculously low prices. Don't be fooled. This is just a ploy to get you to buy additional pirated cartridges and accessories. Most likely, you will end-up paying more if you fall for this warped 'loss-leader' marketing ploy. Always insist that you want to know the price for just the GameBoy alone and nothing else. 2) Single game and multi-game pirated cartridges cost the same. Don't be fooled. Single game cartridges are usually cheaper than multi-game cartridges. 3) Multi-game cartridges actually have 450 games as printed on the box.
Don't be fooled. In many instances, never purchase a cart with more than 10 games. Those that have more are usually remixed editions of the same game. For example, you could have a cart with 40 different Tetris games, but on playing, realize that it is the same game but coded differently with either more lives, extended levels or reversed gameplay. 4) Pirated carts have battery back-up. Don't be fooled. When buying a 'battery-save' pirated cartridge, always make sure that you check if the battery is working. Ask to test the game. Save it. Turn the machine off. Turn it on again and make sure that your saved game is still there. Then, take out the cartridge from the slot, put it back in, turn the machine on and check again to see if your save game is still there, because more often than not, once the cartridge is removed from the slot, the game is gone. Pirated carts with 'battery-save' vary in quality, so you must always insist on trying it first. Do not be pressured by hard sell tactics.
How Do You Spot A Pirate? Most game shops in Asia are ironically honest, in that they never try to pass off a copy cart for the original. But just to be sure, here are a few points to remember.
1) The boxes of the originals have better print. The ones on the pirates are usually a little fuzzy. Blurred around the edges and not as sharp in picture quality.
2) The stickers on the cartridge itself is also blurred.
3) The cartridge boxes (you know, those little clear ones that protects your cartridge) is made of cheaper plastic that is not as smooth.
4) The cartridge itself is often of a slightly different gray (they can never seem to get it correct) and sometimes, instead of the original hexagonal Nintendo screws, a regular "philips" head screw is used.
5) With some cartridges, the words Nintendo is not printed too clearly. The emboss just isn't defined. Or the "N" is smudged off a little.
6) Even the molded plastic which holds the cartridge in the cartridge case before it is put in the box is of a lighter and softer plastic which is quite obvious.
7) If the game comes with a manual, the manuals are usually in black and white instead of color, and if it's in color, the paper quality is thicker and the printing not as good. Sometimes, the book is even cut crooked. Original Still The Best
I've come to realize that pirated games are not at all cheaper than the originals. But I must admit, I have given in and purchased some out of curiosity especially if it's a weird title (like Sonic for GameBoy) and because I am unable to find the originals of some titles. But honestly, if it's really a good game that I want, then I much rather buy the original. GameBoy Rules!
And Originals Are Better! | 
