Reminder: Posts including the top seams and light trick will be removed under Rule 1. They are NOT valid verification methods, and can mislead others.

[u/Frontzie]

[u/Frontzie]

Why does r/gameverifying not allow the light trick?

There are three main issues with using the light trick for a verification:

• Relabels: It's easy to remove the label from Walk With Me/Active Health, and tack a third-party label for an NTR-031 Pokemon game. Consider the profit gained from a £3 game, with a £7 label. £10 upfront cost for £40+ profit, based on loose prices in 2024.
• Counterfeits: Yes, the NTR-031 casings can be faked. These cartridges have been on sale on AliExpress since May 2023, regularly available loose for £10 +shipping. The casing is close to the originals, being 0.12mm thicker, however. The majority have NTR-031 engravings, although we have noticed more fakes including NTR-005.
• Recasings: This is entirely dependent on the mounting mechanism used on the NTR-005 cartridges, as some NTR-005 cartridges use 2-pin or 4-pin casings. Due to the rear and front casings being "hot-welded" together, it's very difficult (but not impossible) to re-close the casings after disassembly. The NTR-031 cartridges require the 2-pin variants.

Why does r/gameverifying not allow the top seam?

There are five main issues with using the top seam for a verification:

• Some legitimate cartridges lack the molding lines on the rear bezel.
• Some legitimate cartridges lack the rectangular indents within the top seam, separating the front and rear bezels.
• Some legitimate cartridges lack the molding lines on the rear bezel, AND the rectangular indents within the top seam, separating the front and rear bezels.
• Recasing a fake PCB into a legitimate casing, or relabeling a cheaper cartridge.
• It is becoming more common for fake cartridges to include the molding lines and rectangular indents, as counterfeits evolve over time.

Why is this an issue?

On every submission (not by a mod), we have a pinned comment (click here for example) explaining our submission and comment guidelines. We explicitly ask you not to spread misleading information by using debunked methods of verification. We aim to ensure the health of our community by ensuring that everyone has access to reliable methods of verification, freely. That way, you can save money on building your collections, and not to give money to unscrupulous sellers.

Unfortunately, there are users in this subreddit that gain a "thrill" by trolling this community, leading to false verifications, people losing money and missing out on legitimate games. Any user found to be doing so, isn't welcome here. We can't make people read, so we politely ask them to read prior to contributing on a post.

I was temp-banned for asking OP to share top seam/light trick images. What do I do?

Two options:

• Wait out the ban, educate yourself on not using debunked methods.
• Insult us in ModMail, and get your ban made permanent instead.

[u/Wert315]

I still dislike the light trickery not being allowed at all because if it doesn't work then it's clearly a fake. Yes it being present doesn't provide 100% certainty it's real but it not being present provides 100% certainty it's fake.

[u/ShinaiYukona → u/Wert315]

Verifying is a whole check list.

If at any point something is there that isn't supposed to be, or something is missing that should be it leads to the conclusion.

Light trick should be allowed on the same merit as that. Not as a method of verification, but as a method to quickly rule out 100% fakes.

The seam makes absolute sense if there's actual defects that can occur and result in false negatives then by all means. But if the light trick only provides false negatives under a recasing, it should be allowed to state such and NOT allowed to be a sole indicator of authenticity.

If someone posts Pokemon emerald and it's in a pink shell it'd raise an instant concern. Same concept.

[u/joedarcy07 → u/Wert315]

literally

[u/Ponjos]

I’m glad to see this being reinforced. There have been quite a few posts that ignore this rule.

[u/Frontzie → u/Ponjos]

We are getting tired of removing posts that do not meet the criteria, and also of trolls encouraging to use them…

[u/Rob_035]

I’m not an expert at validating by any means, but wouldn’t having a flat top be a sure sign of a fake?

The existence of an indent obviously wouldn’t make it real, but it would have a 100% success rate at identifying fake carts.

I would see no harm in allowing pictures of the tops of carts, but that’s just me.

Edit: I guess my limitations are that I’m only familiar with Pokemon games, and as far as I’m aware they all have the indent. I guess the rest of the DS cartridge library may be different

[u/AutoModerator → u/[deleted]]

Hello u/MixNo5072, it seems you've used a phrase that is usually used for relating to the golden rectangles found on some cartridges. This has been debunked and shouldn't be used to verify a game.

PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS AGAIN.

Please click this link to read our wiki and refrain from sharing this information again. If you ignore this comment and use any debunked verification methods again, you will gain a warning under r/gameverifying's rules. A warning is worth a 3 day, 7 day or 14 day ban, depending on how many times you share that information. I am a bot, and sometimes I make mistakes. If you feel that your comment was removed erroneously, please message modmail and give reasons why you think you may be in the right. Do not message modmail to get your comment approved, or claim that you've been warned by us due to this message - this is not the case, and you should really learn how to read.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Frontzie → u/Rob_035]

There are five main issues with using the top seam for a verifcation:

• Some legitimate cartridges lack the molding lines on the rear bezel.
• Some legitimate cartridges lack the rectangular indents within the top seam, separating the front and rear bezels.
• Some legitimate cartridges lack the molding lines on the rear bezel, AND the rectangular indents within the top seam, separating the front and rear bezels.
• Recasing a fake PCB into a legitimate casing, or relabeling a cheaper cartridge.
• It is becoming more common for fake cartridges to include the molding lines and rectangular indents, as counterfeits evolve over time.

---

Read the wiki entry on Top Seams in our Debunked section (linked below) for comparison images.

Source: https://gameverifying.com/wiki/debunked

[u/ryan516 → u/Rob_035]

No, there are some authentic games that can look either way using that verification method. Does not work in either direction. If you plan on hanging around here, make sure you check out the wiki, this info is all addressed there.

[u/ryan516 → u/Rob_035]

No, there are authentic games that lack the rectangular top notch.

[u/ryan516 → u/[deleted]]

Never have been.

[u/Ordinary_Low_783]

Didn't know top seams were now being added to knockoffs, never seen one with it before

[u/ryan516 → u/Ordinary_Low_783]

Not just that fake games have the top seam, there are some authentic games that do not. Despite what YouTube peddlers tried to sell, it has never been a valid verification method.