Is it ever ok to buy a repro cart?

CiDeRmAn

Most folk here have very strong opinions on reproduction carts, the naff-ness of the whole deal.
But I am giving some serious thought to picking up Gleylancer for the Megadrive.
It is coming in at €160 right now, and that's very steep for an MD game.
There is a repro on the go, nicely done, and it comes in around €40.
So, should I take the jump or save for a few months and get the real deal?

With the repro I still get the pleasure of slotting that baby into my MD or Nomad and playing the game as I should.

So, what do y'all think?

Retr0gamer

Repro's are only worth the price of the PCB and eeprom's. If you must buy one then make sure you don't pay over the odds for one.

I wouldn't buy one myself. You'll get the same satisfaction as playing it from an everdrive only you'll be out of pocket and still have the nagging feeling in the back of your mind that you want the original and more than likely will shell out for the original down the line.

KeRbDoG

Get a flashcart, easier to justify than a one off copy cart

o1s1n

If you really really really must buy a Megadrive repro cart, please go with a version that was never released - like a Gleylancer with the blue European Megadrive boarder.

Repros are hitting Megadrive games hard and I pretty much gave up collecting rare Megadrive games because of it

Pyongyang

Personally I wouldn't buy a repro in the first instance, either save up and buy the real thing or emulate it (I personally prefer the former). Exception to the rule perhaps would be something like the USA repro of Clock Tower for the SNES. Or perhaps the Famicom repro of Recca (which clearly, nobody without a knighthood or wearing a crown is going to be able to afford to buy).

o1s1n

As I was saying, as long as there's some way it can be seen that it's a repro then I've no problem with it. I just hate the idea of something trying to rip people off with dodgy reproductions. I've seen a few on ebay over the last year which unless you really read the auction, you'd think they're originals

Plus I've loads of ebay watch terms loaded in. They always give me a bloody heart attack.

'Oh my god, the punisher for 40 but it now!!!!'

'oh wait, it's a repro'

'Oh my god, Darxide for 100 euro!!!!!'

'Oh wait, its a repro'

Pyongyang

Yep, totally agree, trying to flog a repro as the real deal is a no no. Sadly there will always be folk doing this.

Just did a curiosity check on Recca. Cheapest boxed copy I can find is around €450 ish. A sealed copy on eBay is currently commanding in excess of €1100! :eek:

OwaynOTT

Is Snes as bad as megadrive for repros?
A lot of boxes all right and manuals, also the likes of mana 2 and zelda parallel worlds. Those games are easy to spot though.
Really annoys me when a boxed game comes on my saved searches and it looks great, only to find its a repro box.

o1s1n

Most of the Snes repros seem to be hacks and translations alright, which isn't so bad.

I don't know why the Megadrive is being flooded with them. Maybe they're easier to make?

**** sake, I almost got duped by one via an email alert. AGAIN!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120958573014&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123#ht_500wt_1282

And another

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320953125285&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123#ht_500wt_1282

Never buy a Megadrive game from Spain!

OwaynOTT

Wily Wars for 50 euros! Oh wait its from Spain

Maybe people who collect for megadrive are easily duped droolers quite unlike the sophisticated SNES collectors.

o1s1n

Such sophistication!

OwaynOTT

exactly

Retr0gamer

you should be renamed Cider 'part of the problem' man with your repros and SD cards. You make me sick!

o1s1n

And to think, he's meant to be the one setting an example. There's no hope for the rest of us

a5y

There needs to be a distinction made:

1. imitation reproduction carts that don't have the word "repro", "remake", "replica" or "reproduction" in their advertised title, in addition to on their label/casing in a permanent visible fashion. It can be small, but it needs to be there, and it should be shown when advertised.
2. any reproduction carts made of games that are still available for a fair price from retailers that are selling from the games original manufacturers (ie: the creators can get paid when you buy from these guys).
3. any reproduction cart advertised as "RARE" or "LIMITED EDITION" or similar.

and

• 4: Fan translations / regional ports for games never released in particular languages, clearly labelled as such.
  
• 5: ROM hacks (including fixes to bugs of all sizes in original releases, or even reintroducing bugs that were removed in later editions), again, clearly labelled as such.

This is what annoys me when people talk about "repro" or "reproduction" carts. That description covers the "what" (they are), but not the "why" (they were made) or the "who" (is making money off 'em) or "how" (they're described/advertised/marketed/sourced).

"Reproduction" is so vague an umbrella term it covers everything from impassioned fans' toil to piracy to plain fraud. There's a world apart, but calling them reproduction is lumping them together and expecting someone to read you mind and know which of the many you're talking about.

And really if you're the kind who'd distinguish between good ports and bad ports of games or the superiority of 60Hz over 50Hz then it shouldn't be too much to expect people to be clear on this as well. I'd say it matters just as much.

(I really just need to get a blog and stick any future posts that need more then 200 words on it there)