SNES carts made in Mexico VS. Made in Japan

[Soldier Blue]

Hey guys, so I've looked through my Super Nintendo collection of about 60 carts and I've noticed I have around 6 made in Mexico carts and the rest seem to be made in Japan. I just want to know what the difference is in the two carts.

I want to know what you guys think about this.

Are made in Mexico carts cheaper and do they not last as long?
Is there anyone here who refuses to get made in Mexico carts for some reason?
Is there anyone here who collects both variants?
Are made in Mexico carts more rare, or vice-versa?

[Kidpanda]

Hey guys, so I've looked through my Super Nintendo collection of about 60 carts and I've noticed I have around 6 made in Mexico carts and the rest seem to be made in Japan. I just want to know what the difference is in the two carts.

I want to know what you guys think about this.

Are made in Mexico carts cheaper and do they not last as long?
Is there anyone here who refuses to get made in Mexico carts for some reason?
Is there anyone here who collects both variants?
Are made in Mexico carts more rare, or vice-versa?

I've had buyers in the past that would refuse buying some of my Made in Mexico carts. They seem to work the same as my other ones, so I guess maybe they last just as long.

[Tanooki]

Made in Mexico carts were cheaper made materials, the most obvious part being the labels which had very weak ink and no outer laminate layer so even just repeated touching them would foul the colors and create a white line across the top fold of the label. Go check ebay, search Mega Man X2 and/or X3, and see how many have fubar labels. Other than the ripped, stickered and markered up by fools, see how many don't look so hot. My understanding was the internal stuff depending on the game was cheaper quality parts too but not in all cases. Some games only got ran through Mexico but still ended up with the crappy labels.

I personally won't buy a Made in Mexico cart if I can avoid it because I don't want to have to jockey around with it not touching the label so I don't wipe the ink off.

[Ziggy]

Most SNES carts made in Mexico are fine. Mexico doesn't automatically mean inferior.

It's really just the MAJESCO ones you wanna stay away from. Those were the ones that were made for as cheap as possible, with super crappy labels. They should be avoided, if possible.

Go check ebay, search Mega Man X2 and/or X3, and see how many have fubar labels.

They weren't made in Mexico. Go on eBay and check the pictures, they all say Made in Japan. Capcom just used shitty labels, I guess.

[Gunstar Green]

I'd like to add the Majesco Genesis cartridges are generally fine, many of them were assembled using surplus parts.

[Ziggy]

I'd like to add the Majesco Genesis cartridges are generally fine, many of them were assembled using surplus parts.

Yeah, wasn't there a recent thread where a Majesco Genesis cart was using an Acclaim cart shell? And the Acclaim logo was just covered with a black sticker?

Also, Genesis cart labels generally suck anyway.

[Gunstar Green]

Also, Genesis cart labels generally suck anyway.

An unfortunate truth.

[Tanooki]

I think it's a matter of opinion that the mexican assembled carts are fine. The Majesco though, that's a fact they're junky wherever and whenever they were made for SNES which is a shame. I've never seen a laminated mexico label so they all end up getting eaten away at by even just thumbs going at it putting the cart in/out. The same lack of laminate was a larger problem on Gameboy around 1995 as well, basically all non-Super GB games are fine, but there are a few at the end that can get killed, then all GBC and later stuff (N64 too) just are junk you don't want to risk cleaning with anything other than water (damp cloth) which is a shame. You usually see it the worst on Gameboy since fingers easily hit that huge label.

Also didn't bring it up but for maybe that one person who wasn't aware, the re-releases by majesco came on inferior paper manuals and in black and white too, no color which was also a shame.

[Zopenko]

*ALL* of the Earthbound carts are made in Mexico. The problem is not the "made in Mexico" cart. The issue are the majesco reprints the ones with black and white instruction manuals.

[Zing]

Games "made in Mexico" are virtually identical to the Japanese-made games. I certainly cannot see or feel the difference in plastic or label. Examples are Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, DKC2, DKC3...

"Assembled in Mexico" are the ones to avoid. They have black and white manuals, and lower quality labels.