Game Boy Advance: Pokemon Emerald (bootleg)

Game Boy Advance: Pokemon Emerald (Bootleg) - Cartridge Only

Information on Bootleg games:
What are they? Ever bought a 32 in 1 game cartridge? Well that is a bootleg item. It means that someone has made a copy of original games and condensed them onto one game cart. Unfortunately, ever since the 80s or even earlier when gaming became popular, bootleg games have been made in multitudes. The more popular the game, the more bootlegs are out there. Sometimes these copies are easy to spot and have incorrectly printed or blurry labels, but in other cases, they are almost identical to the original games. Many gamers have bought bootleg games and often they don’t even know that they have them. Some of these games are exact copies of the originals and they play exactly the same. 
How do I recognise them? This is not always easy but there are some hints and tips to spotting bootlegs - Often these fake games do not even attempt to match the official Nintendo released label, a sure give away. They often have different images, are missing the Nintendo seal or company logo etc. Compare your label to other listings, this is a great way to see the difference. The fake labels vary in quality. Some are very shiny and others are a stretched out photo print. The fake game labels are put on by hand and sometimes crooked. The real Nintendo released labels are put on by machine and exact. Pokemon colour games should always have the same colour cartridge as the name. Pokemon GBA games should have a foil label (not glossy). Some of the fake labels look pretty close to the original but here are a few ways to tell.... ALL AUTHENTIC GAME BOY CARTRIDGES HAVE AN INDENTED LOT NUMBER ON THE LABEL. Hold any Game Boy cartridge at an angle under a light, you will see the lot number, it is usually on the right hand side of the label. It will be a number like 22, 47 or something similar, it is not hard to see. Also, the Advance cartridges have NINTENDO stamped in white just above the metal prongs. Use a good light but you will see it plain as day. NB! I have seen a few bootlegs with Nintendo stamped on them so this alone is not guaranteed.

Is it illegal to buy and sell them? It’s a grey area but technically, yes. Not all countries have copyright laws so places like China, Japan and Thailand are inundated with bootleg games and will sell them on to other countries. Many countries turn a blind eye to bootleg games and don’t enforce copyright laws. There are so many levels of copyright and you need to decide what you are comfortable with. Many people will have purchased at least one 32/64/100 in 1 game cart or even more commonly, 8 bit tv game carts (most of which are bootleg/copies). There are also a lot of bootleg games and consoles out there that are not copies of originals – are they illegal? Many collectors like to collect all these obscure titles as they are rare and hard to find (Zook would be an example of this). Many people also run emulation software on their consoles or buy R4 cards and other multi game software. Is this legal? Lastly, is there a statute of limitations on old bootleg games? For example, Nintendo’s NES console is patented and the patent has run out. Is it therefore acceptable to buy a bootleg NES console and games? What about the Golden china and similar Famiclone NES consoles that was sold in South Africa in the 80s? Those are copies of the original Nintendo Famicom/NES and yet they were sold in many well-known stores! At the end of the day, you need to decide what you are comfortable with. I personally will not knowingly buy a bootleg game (I have unknowingly bought some though and discovered they were copies later), and I would never sell a bootleg without advertising it as such. I do believe it is better to be honest about whether a game is a bootleg or not and let people decide whether they want to buy it, rather than sell a game as original when you know it is not. Many people out there are quite happy to buy these copies and they are often cheaper alternatives to otherwise very pricey games. Original Pokemon games for example usually sell for over R300 whereas copies are considerably cheaper. At the end of the day, you need to decide what works for you.