111 replies to this topic

[Guitarman]

crsdawg, on Wed Jan 5, 2011 7:02 PM, said:

Riscx is right about the box art, I found one of my old fb boxes tonight (while digging around for ti-99 psu). I compared the two boxes (pirate and legit) side by side...they are mirror images. The red of the original box is a little darker than the pirate, and the carbboard (viewed from inside the box) is also darker but the difference is slight and it wouldn't surprise me if similar differences were evident in different batches of legit packaging.

There was one discrepancy between the two boxes that might be able to clue people in as to whether or not an original or pirate fb is inside, it's in the seal. The font on the pirate seal is slightly bolder than the legit seal. It's a small difference, but easily noticeable if your looking for it. If all legit fbs have seals with the same font as mine and fb pirate consoles all use the same font....then a close pic of the seal would be enough to validate a console. Maybe some others with real and fake fbs could take a look at their seal and post if it's the same or different from what I have.

Here are a couple pics to illustrate what I'm talking about, the left label is the pirate, right is legit original:

This looks like it could be the way to tell. I looked at my fake and it too has the bolder, slightly miss-shaped Atari logo. The "R" is the giveaway. The diagonal leg of the R goes farther out beyond the loop of the R compared to the 'ATARI' logo on the box, and the loop in the 'R' is a bit flatter. Also, if you look at the Fuji in the logo, the center leg of the original doesn't flare until near the bottom. The fake flares much higher. I guess we will have to make sure that anyone selling a Flashback online has a good picture of the seal, if intact.

[Fixitguy74]

My local Kroger had a stack of about six or eight of these before Christmas and I saw they still had one last night. I checked the logo and letters on the sticker and they matched the fake pictured.

[Mot]

Can I get a copy of the cease and desist to put on all the boxes at my grocery store (if they have any).

[revolutionika]

this is what happens when you ship all the jobs over to china. cant really blame the commies.

[Almost Rice]

risxc, on Wed Jan 5, 2011 3:02 PM, said:

nathanallan, on Wed Jan 5, 2011 2:23 PM, said:

Did you buy it from Amazon themselves or from a person selling on Amazon? If Amazon has them this could be a bigger deal than thought previously.

that will be difficult to say as I bought it through an import service. that buys from amazon

I had a quick look again amazon does not have stock at the moment.
but some sellers are offering eg BESTSKU etc

what we can take away from this is that the seller stock on amazon is tainted.


also what is really interesting to me is that I can find no glitching on the unit except for the normal reported flashback 2 glitches eg. yar's return

If you make a AtoZ complaint to Amazon, the seller would lose and you get your money back. Amazon does not take kindly to fakes being sold on their website.

[wood_jl]

Was there any action ever taken to shut down the pirate consoles?

Does "Atari" even care?

[onmode-ky]

wood_jl, on Sat Jan 29, 2011 9:52 PM, said:

Was there any action ever taken to shut down the pirate consoles?

Does "Atari" even care?

You should look farther back in this very thread.

onmode-ky

[nathanallan]

Someone at vintage-computer just given one of these, I suspect it is from the same batch as the pirate consoles.

http://www.vintage-c...-2600-on-a-chip

Edited by nathanallan, Thu Feb 17, 2011 7:51 PM.

[atarilovesyou]

Sooo...I've had my FB2 since back in 06 or whenever I bought it.

Can somebody put up the Coles Notes version of the differences of the 'real' vs 'fakes'?

I mean, if I have to open the thing up to see what kind of circuit board is in there, then...well, these guys obviously did their homework. And since mine works, and looks like the vast majority of them out there, I'm going to assume mine is legit.

And if it's not, well...can't say I care all that much. I did my part. I bought it in a legit store (Walmart). It works. What am I supposed to do about it now?

Usually a knockoff can be easily spotted, and I doubt that someone would go through the trouble to make such convincing fakes on a product that, let's be honest, didn't exactly go viral in popularity.

All I can say is that if someone took the time to do this, then I'd imagine Sony and Microsoft would have an even larger problem on their hands...consoles that people actually buy.

[Retro Rogue]

atarilovesyou, on Fri Feb 18, 2011 12:48 AM, said:

Sooo...I've had my FB2 since back in 06 or whenever I bought it.

Can somebody put up the Coles Notes version of the differences of the 'real' vs 'fakes'?

I mean, if I have to open the thing up to see what kind of circuit board is in there, then...well, these guys obviously did their homework. And since mine works, and looks like the vast majority of them out there, I'm going to assume mine is legit.

And if it's not, well...can't say I care all that much. I did my part. I bought it in a legit store (Walmart). It works. What am I supposed to do about it now?

If it was at Walmart in '06 it was legit, Walmart and Target were the main retailers they were distributed through. These pirates were from the last two years.

Quote

Usually a knockoff can be easily spotted, and I doubt that someone would go through the trouble to make such convincing fakes on a product that, let's be honest, didn't exactly go viral in popularity.

All I can say is that if someone took the time to do this, then I'd imagine Sony and Microsoft would have an even larger problem on their hands...consoles that people actually buy.

These new ones were pirate, there *is no question*.

Edited by wgungfu, Fri Feb 18, 2011 1:17 AM.

[Dreammary]

Oh thank all that is holy! My formally sealed one is official, thankfully; mine has the correct plastic seal text.


Added a picture:





Also it only cost me $5, so I started to sweat and read everything.
Whew! Real, not fake. This thread almost made me cry but now I feel better.

Thank you, crsdawg for putting my mind at ease.

Edited by Dreammary, Sat Apr 23, 2011 4:52 PM.

[stringfellow]

I noticed today that it looks like the one pictured on amazon is of the fake.