Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire - A Bootleg worth collecting?

[CRTGAMER]

Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire - A Bootleg worth collecting?

So, after getting a bit annoyed at people admittedly selling these for money on ebay, i've decided to source a few more and will give them away to racket members.

Thanks to mjmjr25's generosity, I got to try out a bootleg of a rare PC Engine CD game. Since I do not have access to a PC Engine CD console, I tried the game thru Magic Engine on the PC. A bit of irony playing thru an emulator, the SHMUP game though dated plays very well. The original had a limited run and is rare, it is nice to be able to play the game though a bootleg, in its original CD format with all the music intact.



The bootleg disc really got my curiosity. Accusations stated that the disc is just a CDR. I pulled the directory and could only find a single CDA track. Inspecting the disc itself points to not a CDR but a custom pressed CD. There is a Bar code in the center ring. This is the quickest way to confirm it is a fake, the original disc has no bar code.

Fake Disc with Bar code in the center ring

http://www.superpcenginegrafx.net/sapcomp1.html

At some point, someone made a batch of counterfeit copies of the legendary PC Engine Arcade Card CD game Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire through the Swiss company Care4data.

Unlike most of the bootlegs from asian companies like Everanime or Son May, there are no new unique brandings or changes made to the original packaging. It was made to look as close as possible to the real thing with the intention of passing it off as such.

I suppose my Sapphire (PC Engine Arcade) boot is at least uncommon. Despite what some here think, the average person cannot just go buy one online.

Dunno, after the last thread on this, I pm'd a buddy and said i'd like to give a few of these away, to try and prove a point. He sent me (5) free of charge to give out. He said there are still hundreds and hundreds available, sitting on spindles. I don't collect PCE at all and I have (2) contacts that say they can get as many as they need. After I gave a handful away last week, I pm'd a few of my buddies on racket and said, "Hey, surprised you didn't pm on the sapphires?" The reply from almost all of them..."Already have one."

Is any bootleg considered rare and worth collecting? In terms as a monetary value collectable certainly not. However on the other hand, just maybe for the History story and having access to play a rare game maybe it could be a collectable simply to play and not sell?

http://www.videogameden.com/cdrom/reviews/sap.htm

Ginga Fukei Densetsu: Sapphire was released late in the PC Engine system's life which is certainly echoed by its hefty price tag. Is it often ranked as the most expensive commercial PC Engine title and clean copy can today fetch between $300 and $400 in the collectors' market (plus the price of an Arcade or Duo card if you don't already own one). It is not, for that matter, a game that anyone can afford. Until recently. Back around 2003, a counterfeit of the game appeared (and I'm not ashamed to say that this is the version tested here) and was sold for $60. Because the counterfeit copies are so close to the legitimate game - down to the minutest detail including the registration and spine cards - some sellers (honest or not) have been selling them at full price.

It is rather easy to figure out if you own a counterfeit if the case has been opened - the word CARE4DATA is clearly visible on the inner ring of the game's CD.



Interestingly, Ginga Fukei Densetsu: Sapphire was ported to the Playstation Portable in 2008 and was part of the Ginga Ojousama Densetsu Collection (aka Galaxy Fraulein Collection in the west). The compilation also included Galaxy Fraulein Yuna and Galaxy Fraulein Yuna 2. I wondered for some time why Sapphire was part of such collection and the answer is rather simple - they both share the same character designer, Mika Akitaka

Possibilty of a Hudson Contract?

They are from Switzerland in the mid-90s... and, that's all I've ever heard. They are professionally pressed and either meant to be sold illegally as bootlegs, or were actually ordered by Hudson to be made for the retail market but then they backed out on it. I lean towards the "legit" story, but in the end it doesn't really matter. They never were sold at retail, and are essentially bootlegs unless someone can prove otherwise (which probably will not happen). I guess I think that way because I cannot believe people would go to the trouble of printing at least a few thousand copies (no idea how many are out there) of a game on a very limited platform, and also go to the trouble of making it VERY legit looking with manual, back label, spine card, registration cart and having it properly sealed. It would be a total waste of money to do this just to sell bootlegs. Remember, these were apparently printed before the price of Sapphire shot up into the $300+ range (or I guess $400-500+ now, if you look at recent listings... ).

One of my buddies over at PCEngineFX just sent me a really sweet custom back label, insert, obi and stickers for my "boot" of Sapphire. Note the "do not eBay" sign on it.

References
Site with pics to identify the Bootleg from Original:
http://www.superpcenginegrafx.net/sapcomp1.html

Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginga_Fukei_Densetsu_Sapphire
Review of the game: http://www.honestgamers.com/reviews/4253.html
Another Review: http://www.videogameden.com/cdrom/reviews/sap.htm

A Custom Insert. Right Click to save a larger picture

[mjmjr25]

Nice write-up, CRT.

The music in this game is certainly my favorite draw - simply sublime.

[brunoafh]

So, do we know who made these bootlegs or what the deal is? I remember Breetai had a bunch of these awhile back or something... as indicated in CRTGAMER'S write-up.

Personally, a bootleg created by some random guys to rip people off is no more valuable than a burned disk I can create in a few minutes to me. Although the fact that it's (supposedly) pressed makes it a little more appealing, I guess.

More than anything I just want to give this game a spin, being a Hudon Soft shmup I've yet to play. I'll end up grabbing the Galaxy Fraulein Collection one of these days and check it out that way.

[flex wood]

Thanks crt! This reminds me I need to go over to my dads house and pick mine up.

[CRTGAMER]

Thanks crt! This reminds me I need to go over to my dads house and pick mine up.

Curious, is it an Original? Please post pics whichever one you have.

[flex wood]

Thanks crt! This reminds me I need to go over to my dads house and pick mine up.

Curious, is it an Original? Please post pics whichever one you have.

It's the same one you have from Mike. I can get a pic up if you want but is it really necessary?

[CRTGAMER]

Thanks crt! This reminds me I need to go over to my dads house and pick mine up.

Curious, is it an Original? Please post pics whichever one you have.

It's the same one you have from Mike. I can get a pic up if you want but is it really necessary?

Only if you have more then just the disc. Please post detailed pics to confirm the site I linked in the OP.

A good game, you can run it in Magic Engine on the PC.

[Breetai]

So, do we know who made these bootlegs or what the deal is? I remember Breetai had a bunch of these awhile back or something... as indicated in CRTGAMER'S write-up.

They are from Switzerland in the mid-90s... and, that's all I've ever heard. They are professionally pressed and either meant to be sold illegally as bootlegs, or were actually ordered by Hudson to be made for the retail market but then they backed out on it. I lean towards the "legit" story, but in the end it doesn't really matter. They never were sold at retail, and are essentially bootlegs unless someone can prove otherwise (which probably will not happen). I guess I think that way because I cannot believe people would go to the trouble of printing at least a few thousand copies (no idea how many are out there) of a game on a very limited platform, and also go to the trouble of making it VERY legit looking with manual, back label, spine card, registration cart and having it properly sealed. It would be a total waste of money to do this just to sell bootlegs. Remember, these were apparently printed before the price of Sapphire shot up into the $300+ range (or I guess $400-500+ now, if you look at recent listings... ). I'm sure Mike will disagree with me on this forever, and that's cool... because he has a US copy of Panzar Dragoon Saga for the Sega Saturn.*

Personally, a bootleg created by some random guys to rip people off is no more valuable than a burned disk I can create in a few minutes to me. Although the fact that it's (supposedly) pressed makes it a little more appealing, I guess.

At least it won't stress the laser on your PC Engine's disc drive like a burnt disc would, as it's pressed.


*watch your Saturn games... I'm within driving distance.

[CRTGAMER]

They are from Germany in the mid-90s... and, that's all I've ever heard. They are professionally pressed and either meant to be sold illegally as bootlegs, or were actually ordered by Hudson to be made for the retail market but then they backed out on it. I lean towards the "legit" story, but in the end it doesn't really matter. They never were sold at retail, and are essentially bootlegs unless someone can prove otherwise (which probably will not happen).

At least it won't stress the laser on your PC Engine's disc drive like a burnt disc would, as it's pressed.

I would be interested in getting more info on this interesting piece of History. The Hudson Contract would be a great story if it can be confirmed somehow. Definitely some work up front to press copies to make a profit from the bootleg point.

Do your copies have covers or manuals? If so, can you post detailed pics to confirm what the superpcenginegrafx.net site show?

[flex wood]

Sort of off topic but then again not really I guess. If these are pressed discs that play on the system why haven't we seen anything like this repressing with other games? Like pds or mkr for saturn or suikoden 2 onplaystation? I under stand that sapphire commands a much higher price then any I've listed but if these were made to be sold as bootlegs for profit it would make sense for someone to do this with other games that are also worth a nice amount of money. Since we haven't really seen it happen with other games (that I know of) I would be inclined to believe that these had to have been pressed for Hudson.