VGEsoterica
Member
I'd assume it's pandemic related but lately I've noticed a ton more Neo Geo AES games for sale. Kind of makes sense (sadly) as I'd assume collectors who are hurting financially due to the pandemic and job losses need money coming in. Sucks big time this is the case but sadly it's also the reality.
Which means the scammers and bootleggers trying to pass fakes off as real games for thousands of dollars know about it too! A casual browse of eBay last week and I spotted two clearly fake AES games for sale well in excess of $1000 (one for $1500, and one for $4500). Which means some poor buyer could have dropped almost 5K on a bootleg made with maybe $100 worth of parts (I reported the items to eBay, but still)
I had to reorganize part of my collection anyway, so I made a video on the topic to help others avoid buying bootleg games passed off as the real thing. But a few things not mentioned, as you can't photograph them are ; the smell! If you have AES games, you know they have a certain distinctive smell. Like old cigarette smoke mixed with hot vinyl car seats from the 80's and a weird plastic chemical smell. Sounds gross but they all smell the same...and bootlegs / conversions made with repro parts DONT smell like this! Also if it's from France (sorry to any French Gaf'ers, but it's true) the likelihood of a fake goes up as it seems to be a hotbed of conversions and bootlegs.
Unfortunately the reality is on a good day AES fakes are out there! And now with tons of retro games hitting the market, the odds of fakes goes up with it! Wish it wasn't the case but the shitheels looking to score a quick payday are out there!
Hope everyone reading this is safe, healthy, and not experiencing anything that causes them to have to sell their collections!
But if anyone has any more questions leave them in the comments. I particularly hate scammers / bootleggers in the AES scene, as it's both ruining the hobby and a lot of their conversions destroy existing games, which also sucks!
Which means the scammers and bootleggers trying to pass fakes off as real games for thousands of dollars know about it too! A casual browse of eBay last week and I spotted two clearly fake AES games for sale well in excess of $1000 (one for $1500, and one for $4500). Which means some poor buyer could have dropped almost 5K on a bootleg made with maybe $100 worth of parts (I reported the items to eBay, but still)
I had to reorganize part of my collection anyway, so I made a video on the topic to help others avoid buying bootleg games passed off as the real thing. But a few things not mentioned, as you can't photograph them are ; the smell! If you have AES games, you know they have a certain distinctive smell. Like old cigarette smoke mixed with hot vinyl car seats from the 80's and a weird plastic chemical smell. Sounds gross but they all smell the same...and bootlegs / conversions made with repro parts DONT smell like this! Also if it's from France (sorry to any French Gaf'ers, but it's true) the likelihood of a fake goes up as it seems to be a hotbed of conversions and bootlegs.
Unfortunately the reality is on a good day AES fakes are out there! And now with tons of retro games hitting the market, the odds of fakes goes up with it! Wish it wasn't the case but the shitheels looking to score a quick payday are out there!
Hope everyone reading this is safe, healthy, and not experiencing anything that causes them to have to sell their collections!
But if anyone has any more questions leave them in the comments. I particularly hate scammers / bootleggers in the AES scene, as it's both ruining the hobby and a lot of their conversions destroy existing games, which also sucks!
