How to tell if your Nintendo DS game is a fake

Have you bought or are you planning to buy a DS game and are worried that it might not be as authentic as you think? Nintendo DS games are appearing in counterfeiters in greater numbers these days. And although counterfeiters have gotten better at reproducing fake games, they still leave obvious physical signs of fraud. What's more, over 90% of all counterfeits are Pokémon games, as these are the most commonly purchased by parents who don't know what they're looking at, from Wish, Alibaba, Amazon or even ad sites such as Leboncoin or eBay in many cases. So these counterfeit games are illegal copies of legitimate Nintendo DS games. And there are a few quick and easy ways to detect whether a Nintendo DS cartridge is a bootleg (a counterfeit).

The official seal (proof of authenticity)

Firstly, just look at the box containing the game. This is the very first indication that a DS game is not so authentic. In fact, all games published by Nintendo come with a proof of authenticity seal on the box. Depending on the region and console, this seal is slightly different. On the box for the European region, the seal is round and shines in gold. The text reads "Seal of quality". On the American box, the seal is a little more oval and the gold is a little browner. It is less shiny than the European seal.

As a general rule, look first at the text and images on the front - are they of poor quality or pixelated? If so, this suggests a counterfeit. Secondly, remove the paper cover - this is usually high quality glossy paper and some parts may be glossy. If it's just ordinary printing paper, it's not real. Then look at the back for the seal verifying the authenticity of the game. In the images below, the image on the right shows what Nintendo's European seal should look like.

On the left is the seal of a fake DS game, on the right the official seal of a real DS game.

The label on the front of the DS cartridge

Printing

Counterfeiters still lack one vital element in their duplication process. This is good quality label printing. Because they don't have Nintendo's great technology, they create blurred/pixellated labels that are unclear and appear to be of poor quality.

The original Pokemon Nintendo DS games have their labels printed using robust, foolproof technology.

The size

Sometimes the Pokémon game label you see on the cartridge is a little small, oversized or misaligned. These are all signs of fake Nintendo game cartridges. You can see an example of this in the images below, where in the image on the left you can see the misaligned and too small label on the fake DS cartridge.

Their stickers vary with each game cartridge and they don't have a standard size for each copy. The result is different label sizes.

Mistakes

Errors on DS game labels may simply be a spelling mistake or a duplication of fonts. Pay particular attention to the 'o' at the end of 'Nintendo'. If the width of the 'o' is the same throughout, this is one way of identifying that it's a fake Pokemon copy. The 'o' font is thicker at the sides and thinner at the top and bottom in the original Nintendo DS Pokemon games.

On the left, the front of a fake DS cartridge, on the right, the front of a real DS cartridge.

The rear of the DS cartridge

Two things you can quickly check without having a Nintendo DSi to hand is the quality of the cartridge's construction. Firstly, with any Nintendo DS cartridge, you'll notice a seam down the middle of the side. If you pull on this with a fingernail, the cartridge shouldn't come apart at all. If it does, you have an imitation.

Secondly, look at the back of the cartridge. Here you'll see a bootleg cartridge on the left and a real cartridge on the right. Inside the Nintendo Racetrack logo, you'll notice that, framed in blue, the real cartridge has the ® trademark logo after the word "Nintendo". This is missing from the fake DS cartridge. Also, above the gold contact points, there are white letters and numbers. Although the letters in this image say "Nintendo", not all cartridges will - but all legitimate cartridges will have white letters above these gold contact points.

On the left is the back of a fake DS cartridge, on the right the back of a real DS cartridge.

Correspondence between serial numbers

Each Nintendo DS game has its own serial number. This serial number can be found on the front of the cartridge and on the back of the game box, next to the UPC. On the cartridge, you'll find the serial number in the format NTR-XXXX-YYY, where XXXX is the unique serial number for that game and YYY represents the region, such as the United States.

On the back of the game box, you'll find the serial number, in the format NTR-P-XXXX, where XXXX is the unique serial number. These two serial numbers will always match on a legitimate copy of the game. Also compare this serial number to the string of letters printed in black on the back of the cartridge. The first four letters on the back will always match this serial number.

The serial number that must appear on the DS game cartridge

Secure the purchase of your second-hand Nintendo DS game

Buying second-hand DS games is no longer a secret, as it allows you to enjoy them while paying much less than you would in a shop. However, you need to be extra vigilant on online ad sites, as there are plenty of fraudsters out there. With Obvy, the secure payment method between private individuals, you no longer have to worry about this problem. It's simple: once the seller has sent you the game, you can check on receipt that it's not a counterfeit. And since the money involved in the transaction is secure until delivery, you can simply cancel the transaction or return the game to the seller for a full refund. So don't take any risks with Obvy!