who else immediately looked at their n64 cartridges to see if they were real

1. The dot of the letter "i" in the embossed, circled "Nintendo" logo on the rear of the cart is the first thing to look for. A circular dot for the "i" is not authentic. Genuine carts have a small square for the dot on the "i". 2. Look at the screws- often non authentic have regular Philips screws. Genuine has a unique screw type where you need a "game bit" to open. Also, genuine N64 carts have a number stamped into the rear paper label. Hold it at an angle to the light and you can see. 1:25 you can see what looks like "19" stamped into the label. Gameboy games should also have this on the front label. 3. If you look at the bottom edge connector of the cart, genuine ones have numbers/letters molded into the black plastic around the edge connector bottom. Also there are more letters/nums molded into the inside edges of the grey plastic lips that surround the connector Keep in mind, this only tells you if the EXTERIOR of the cart is genuine. Technically, I guess someone COULD use a genuine cart of a cheap/non desired game and re-label it and fill it with circuit board/internals of something else. (Like take a junk N64 game and re-label it as an expensive game like OOT, 007, etc and fill it with re-production/cheap ROM of said expensive game...in which case you have a genuine exterior but non-genuine inside.

Mario was instantly noticeable color difference

To update for anyone looking at this: I work for a local retro shop, I usually repair carts, consoles, and various small electronics for the man who owns it. He's had it open for a good 40ish years now and he has a stability problem, so I do most of his soldering. BE WARNED: Reproductions have gotten really good at imitating the real thing, going as far as to imitate the stamp. The only sure fire way to know if you have an authentic copy is the circuit board *WITH* the Nintendo label stamped on the solder mask (green coating covering the board) also known as a silkscreen. Nintendo also used a gold silkscreen, where is most circuit boards use white now. So if you're going to buy that $150 N64 brand new never opened as a claim, just know that since the value is in its condition + never being opened, you'll take a risk. However, if you just want the cartridge, please make sure the photo has a picture of it taken apart with the board displayed and do your research.

Shit, I recently discovered the copy of Mario Party 2 I bought a year ago was fake.

Had a quick look at my collection (26 games) and they're all original according to this method. Can't say it isn't a relief!

I guess my copy of Mario Kart 64 is a fake, no wonder it crashes every once in a while. Thanks for the tip, I'll keep an eye out next time

I sold my N64 years ago and I'm re-buying my childhood back and it's a damn shame the market is flooded with Chinese fakes. I see many on eBay being sold as the real thing but there are so many ways to tell a fake from a real cart. Saw a fake listing for Conker's Bad Fur Day and they were asking over $100 for it!

Also look at the bottom of the "e"

When you check all 24 of your Nintendo games and they are ALL authentic. 😎

Nice, man I did not even know that. Although I'm surprised you also didn't say that another difference between the 2 is the colors of the cartridges (the stickered fronts that is). On the fake cartridges, the colors are much darker in color, whereas on the real ones, they are much lighter. Also, how do you even get fake cartridges anyway? I have real cartridges for my N64 and the reason I know that is because I've played all my N64 games and never once have I gotten a counterfeit.

Boss: “I want that circle dot fixed by tomorrow”

Another way to tell I noticed, on legit carts is the copyright logos and year are not as bold-ed as the rest of the font on the back.

I'm not really sure about this one since where I live there is no ESRB there is USK instead. But the fake smash has the new ESRB logo while the real one has the old I think?

Ah, very specific and detailed. Thanks for the info Joey : )

Another way of telling which one is real or fake is paying attention to certain spots. Real cartridge has Información which is information in Spanish on the bottom of the cartridge, but the fake one has information spelled with a T on the Spanish portion on the bottom. Also, there's a dot next to the nintendo logo on the back. The real one is small and the fake one has a bigger dot and the Rated symbol inside the dot.

Also check the back label for the number stamp imprinted into the label if your cart has it then it’s legit the fake carts don’t have the number stamp that I’ve seen

Personally as a nintendo fan I hate reproductions I want authentic this is so helpful thank you

If only DK oldies knew how to spot fake controllers 🙄

Thanks for the share, and another thing I noticed was the ® symbol in the Nintendo logo was larger and pushing against the "o" on fake copies.

dude THANK YOU. before knowing this trick, trying to buy a copy of smash on ebay is like going through a minefield by guessing.

Checked all mine real except Conker's Bad Fur Day but, knew that when bought it. Glad to find out, thanks for posting

I had a real Conkers Bad Furday cart once upon a time ago. I know I had it when I moved in to my friends place but 2 short years moving back to my mothers. I never saw it again. I missed that game and someone was generous enough to send me some money to get another one but was not aware that reproductions were a thing so commonly. I bought one for 30 dollars, Pretty cheap compared to most places and upon playing it I realized when you meet Gregg for the first time, that cutscene has NO vo on it and was immediately upset. Now I knew that at that point it was a reproduction cart and just couldn't be assed to play it again. Also the game was really dark in contrast. After looking at this video, just to be 100% I looked at the back and the I does have a circular dot. Thanks for the tip. Now my disappointment is validated.

great video, the only problem is that many cassettes they can change the back cover for a original one. the only real way to see if the game is real is by opening and looking at the circuit board.

very helpful thanks my dood🤜🤛didnt really know about the fake ones yikes!! gotta keep my eyes open👀all 14 games of mine are good👌

Sticker colors are different on the back. I was wondering how some Ebay sellers had these many of these cartridges for sale, all listed as new cartridge only.

Thank you for this insight, I noticed on the front of your fake Super Smash Bros. Cartridge, the "E for everyone ESRB stamp" is Black instead of White, is that also something to look out for?

I actually have a fake one that has a square i. It's a repro of Diddy Kong Racing. I would say the 2 digit stamp on the back label is arguably the best quick method.

Thanks just started my retro n64 collection info comes in handy. 👍🎮

Glad to glow my golden eye 007 and Mario kart 64 cartridges are offical

I also noticed the ESRB ratings

That might explain why I got ocarina of time for only 25 bucks. Oh well, it works well anyway

Thanks man, very useful!

Thanks so much I've been wondering if my sm64 was a bootleg cause it's very light but I think it's light because it's a players choice

does the coloring make a diffrence.

Couldn't the counter fitters just start making cartridges with square dots? Is there a more sure fire way of telling? Cause I feel like it is a simple fix for counter fitters to just change a quick shape

I aldo noticed that on smash 64 the e for everyone rating on the bootleg used the recent version they started using in around 2000 while the authentic smash 64, which was released in 1999, had the pixelated version that they used earlier on.

Great to know. May have to check may collection.

Video: "How to tell if your N64 game is fake" Anti-Piracy screens: It's showtime.

I honestly don't mind. I can tell but I will buy them anyways sometimes. The authentic copies are hella expensive and my unauthentic cartridges work very well

Other then value is there a difference? Like performance or graphics?

Also I noticed the earn rating from the fake ones are the new design

I got games from scammers that have "fixed" these discrepancies. They failed with the ESRB white border and lack of proper French pronunciation on the back cartridge. The registered trademark in the upper left corner of the sticker is also too close to the underline and there is no indentation on the sticker on the left side of the back of the gamepack. The Nintendo stamp "I" has a SQUARE stamp so that doesn't seem to be a foolproof way anymore.

Another thing I found was the smash bros logos. One has the old ESRB sign, the other doesn’t

Lol the caution at the back said do not blow, one of the most ignored warning the world lol.

Awesome channel! Subscribed! Cool content 😎🌴🦋🍕

Hi, I just found your channel and online store. I see that you have many Super Mario Bro games for N64. My question is, are they authentic, refurbished, or a fake copy? I can see from the Videos you have many of them. I don't mean to harm your business with this question. I am actually looking for a 100% original authentic Mario game if possible with the box and instructions. It brings back sooo many memories.

As a person who is near a bunch of flea markets that sell shady and bootleg stuff I surprisingly don't see any fake N64 games although I have seen one or at least multiple fake copies of Mario party 2 and my local flea market it was thanks to this video that I was able to tell there were also selling nightmare fuel

Also the circle around the Nintendo logo, on the fake cartridge, is skinnier than the circle on the real one...

How can Nintendo get away with fake games?

This is funny because I just bought Super Smash from Dk oldies and was sent a remake fake, or it could be that they just replaced the old cartridge

This is like one of those "spot the differences" games

I was gonna buy a Nintendo 64 and I came a cross your video and man you just saved me

So I think I ordered a fake copy of Super smash Bros, going to check later. my question is, what am I losing by playing this fake compared to an authentic copy? I see the physical difference in this video on the disks but I’m not understanding yet the difference in the gameplay. If the gameplay itself is no different is it a big deal? I’m genuinely interested to know. Obviously nobody wants a fake but it was a great price and I thought it was real. Now that I have it do I just keep it or what?

I could tell right away. The top ones covers are darker on the fake copies

If they aren't the original from Nintendo, does that change any game play?

I'm curious about this, now i know there are people who made fake games just for money but isn't that illegal or something that they made fake nintendo games? (such as license and stuff)

Do all of the counterfeit cartridges have a circle above the "i" in the nintendo logo?

So, I have what I believe to be a legitimate Diddy Kong Racing (it has lots of scuffs and scratches and even a faint “james” written on the artwork), and a counterfeit Super Mario 64. Although they both have square i’s, the Nintendo Logo is in a different font on SM64. Actually, the whole back is in a different typeface than Diddy Kong Racing, with the Nintendo64 text being the same typeface as Game Pak. The artwork is also really under-exposed, which was something I noticed when I opened it yesterday. The connector is also white compared to Diddy Kong Racing’s orange one, but that might just have to do with the game in question. Not to mention that the SM64 cartridge is in perfect condition compared to DKR.

Thank you so much for the tip

One thing I have noticed that no one has talked about is, if you stand the carts upright, the fakes will lean forward (towards you).

I knew my Mario 64 wasn't real, I just didn't want to make the same mistake again, thank you because this one is blurry and hurts the eyes to play it, I appreciate your sharing this. Wouldn't know where we could get real Mario 64 game would you?

I am making a collection of video games and would like to ask if my games are pirated if my games are fake. If I want to buy and make a video game collection, then I would like to have all of my games to be real copies.

Is there a way to tell from the front? Most sellers online won't take a photo of the back.

Learned something new today!

Just purchased a Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness for N64 and its real! :) Thank you very much for such an informative video! :)

I just got a bootleg cartridge of Castlevania Legacy of Darkness off of Ebay that, to be fair, I bought knowing was probably a fake. It had a proper square dot on the "i", but actually had a larger recess around the "R" after Nintendo. End of the day, I'm not mad cause it still works just fine in my N64, and I'm happy to have this game in ANY form, but just throwing this out there for anyone. The back label was also 100% unstamped.

You can also see that the real ones have a darker label

Is there any gameplay differences between an orginal and repro?

This helps identify fakes but I suspect there are still some fakes that could have the square dot in the “i”?

My 5 games are real, whoop whoop

In my case they are getting so good at repro mine has square ⬛ dots over the I but no numbers on the back of the game. And no hole 🕳️ in the center

The (R) is also much larger on the fugazi ones.

I just got SSB64 a for the first time and it doesn’t even save data. That means it’s a fake, isn’t it? Fake copies don’t save data?

Thanks for the video

im surprised that the fake ones have the game bolt screws

*casually proof checks every N64 game*

Actually some PAL copies can have a circle dot my friend told me because he lived there and has one of his old games

Another way is to look at the gray label on the back for a machine stamped number. If not there, it's a fake.

Darn I own a counterfeit super mario 64. Bought off of eBay and I completely regret it...next time I'll order from you guys since you guys are all about authenticity 😊

The screws on the back are different on the fake.

what happens if you insert it?

Good to know...thanks!

Reasons why I quit buying off ebay, I watched quite a few friends end up with fake games. Can't trust sellers anymore, even if they know they are selling fakes or not. I buy in person and check first.

If the reproduction works just as well as the the original what's the difference?????

The fake nintendo logo actually looks more off than just the dot on the I

So you're telling me I just got a fake smash bros, Mario 64, and Mario kart 64?? 💀

Some dad tried selling me a fake mario party but when i pointed out the flaws he said i was full of crap since he bought it from a reputable kiosk at the mall for $100.

Fast explained ..thanks

Looked at this to see if a japanese copy of ssbn64 that i bought from a convention was legit, turns out it was indeed real! Thanks for making the video

me doing these to the console my dad had as a kid to see if they were fake from 30+ years ago: 👀👀👀

You can literally just tell with Super Smash bros. The blue swirl is the immediate give away. It will be super dark where as the OG is lighter. Most games that are fake have very fleshed out colors that the OG games just didn't have. The 'i' trick is pretty neat though. I did not no that. Another cool fun fact.

But do these fake n64 games work and still saves your progress?

if you go for physical carts why would you collect n64 without knowing how to spot a fake

I use their weight fake ones are lighter but this trick I never knew

Can you do mario kart 64? And banjo kazooie

The e is different too it looks like.

Is there anything wrong with fake games for people who aren't collectors?

I went into a resale shop that half of it's business was retro games. What do you know conker, Zelda, Mario partys all fakes I asked if we could open them and "oh I don't allow that at my store. So I pointed out him all of fakes and bought a boxed game that I had inspected closely and left. The next time I went back all the reproduction carts were gone. If you're going sell repros at least price and mark them as if they are fakes. I traded a known to me and shop owner Pokemon emerald repro he gave me $15 trade for it. I paid a dollar at a pawn shop.

A much quicker and easier way to tell us by looking at the bottom of the cartridge. If your game is white or yellow, it is fake. It should a dark orange/brown-like color