Home Grown Game Inserts??

[Sparky]

I had a request to make a manual insert for a member and so i did and then i did a few more the results are what you see below...

They are copied off my originals, printed on a very nice stock, and printed on the inside from the manual are the basic controls of the game and a disclaimer (Not official, only a copy 2010)

So the question is what do you think of me selling some of these here and only here? dont want the ebay F@cks to get them but for the people here it maybe a nice option for the shelf

I did a poll if this is a good idea or bad idea as the community will rule.
so let me know, i will restrict who i sell to or not at all

Also price point will be $2.50 to $3 each to cover the cost at my printers,
love to hear some feedback, good or bad.

Thanks guys

[RoyVegas]

I have no need for them personally but I'm sure there are a ton of people here who can.  They look pretty nice, nice job.  I voted yes.

[TR0N]

Voted yes sparky and i dont see why not either at all.Fans for the neo-geo mvs make there own insert for "the shockboxes" and some look better then the official ones.

[BlueBMW]

I think they're a great idea.  If anything it might counter some of the high prices resulting from some the ebay gougery.  Some of us just like to have nice looking games sitting in our book cases, but dont want to pay the high price of some complete games.

[SignOfZeta]

I don't give a crap one way or another. Personally, I have no desire for things that look official but aren't (ie: repro spine stickers, GoT back inserts) but, hey, whatever floats people's boats.

Its going to be kind of annoying in a couple of years though when, like Kisados and Girls of Hawaii, they end up selling on eBay for way way more than they could ever possibly ever be worth to a sane person.

[Tatsujin]

Lol, very nice. I also like the THIS IS ONLY A COPY thing. Chapeau

[chany60126]

I would love to get my hands on a couple of those scanned manuals, especially certain TTI released games. I feel too ashamed to display some of these games that I am missing manuals for on my bookshelf since I like getting games that are complete. But I don't want to pay silly prices on evilbay. It's a great idea sparky, and the manual scans look top notch.

[Mathius]

Yessireebob!

[MotherGunner]

These are outstanding Sparks.  I will be in line to buy a Soldier Blade and Bomberman manual!

[Duo_R]

Interested

[GameFreak]

I have a bunch of loose hucards and could use instructions on gameplay. I could use a few.

[Obfuscate]

Awesome!

[NecroPhile]

I think it's a great idea, but I'd go one step further and reproduce 'em in their entirety.  They're clearly marked as reproductions, so I doubt they'll ever be worth stupid money on ebay; sure some clown will try to sell 'em for big bucks, but we all need a good laugh now and then anyway.

In any case, sign me up for a copy of Bonk 3 to hide my kinda wrinkly copy.

[chany60126]

I totally agree with Necro. I'd love to flip through the other pages to admire the artwork, story, etc.

[JoshTurboTrollX]

jawesome- they look great!!

[TGX16]

Looks great, when do you start printing?

[NecroPhile]

Some replacement tray liners would be cool too; at least for Gate of Thunder and the pack-in version of Ys Book I & II.

[csgx1]

Looks awesome.  Good alternative for some of the hard to find manuals.

[Mathius]

Some replacement tray liners would be cool too; at least for Gate of Thunder and the pack-in version of Ys Book I & II.

Seconded. I don't think anyone else here is doing these anymore.

[chany60126]

Mathius, if you go to page one of this thread: https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=8772.0 , NecroPhile posted a very well made tray liner with a back insert for Gate of Thunder that Joe made. All you have to do is resize the image and print it out using Microsoft Word and or Microsoft Paint.

[Mathius]

Mathius, if you go to page one of this thread: https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=8772.0 , NecroPhile posted a very well made tray liner with a back insert for Gate of Thunder that Joe made. All you have to do is resize the image and print it out using Microsoft Word and or Microsoft Paint.

I don't even have to use the link. I know of Joe's work of "art," and I suggested that it be in the Smithsonian a while back. 

[Sparky]

Well good to hear guys, and tanks!!!

Rest assure if you like the quality of the spine stickers well you will love these, i hate copies that look like copies , these look legit.
I am going to keep them as only a 2 pager for the inside to keep cost down and less chance of fuckery with them, in some cases the story is on 1 side and the controls are on the other.

I will only make a few of these inserts for the more rare and so called hard to find games that fetch bull shit prices...
A nice fill in if your missing them.

PS: It was VestCunt i believe that did the Gate of Thunder inlay, i printed it out and it looks f@cking great.

EDIT: Looked back i am wrong... looks like it was Joey... sorry man

[JoshTurboTrollX]

yea, I'm gonna need a GoT and a Legendary Axe insert once you get them rolling.

[Sparky]

wont be doing the common stuff like Led Axe & the not so hard to find... i will be looking at some of the titles from the 21 games that did not come with cases only cardboard boxes.

[Obfuscate]

Agree with NecroPhile also,.Would be great for games like Magical Chase, Dynastic Hero, Super Zonk etc for guys that buy the JPN version but want an English manual. I'll buy some if you make um.

[RoyVegas]

but want an English manual.

They are not manuals.

[mrhaboobi]

i think these look great, could you make the disclaimer bigger .. perhaps watermark the back cover, can see these getting out there and people photo shoping off the bottom corner, a water mark on the back cover would make that hard to cover.  Now who is going to make repo boxes ;)

[GameFreak]

i think these look great, could you make the disclaimer bigger .. perhaps watermark the back cover, can see these getting out there and people photo shoping off the bottom corner, a water mark on the back cover would make that hard to cover.  Now who is going to make repo boxes ;)

I was thinking to suggest something similar. Great idea!

[turbogrfxfan]

i think its awesome I back it 100%  its a great thing for the community.  as of now i need 6.  I dont care if they are not real. its better than just having a huey  even tough they are not real and are clearly written.  It just gives the game a sense of completion

[henrycsc]

Like it or not Sparky, the more you make/sell, the better the chances of them eventually making their way to ebay.  More likely than not, the person buying it then won't even be aware that its a copy and will get screwed.

I did not vote, because you're Canadian and will do what you want. 

[turbogrfxfan]

maybe put a white band across the front that says copy.

[chany60126]

I am not really feelin' the idea of watermarks, but I can see what you guys are saying with regards to possible ebay trolls. But if one were to be implemented it should be in the back, not in the front. The main allure of the manual insert is the nice cover art.

[turbogrfxfan]

I am not really feelin' the idea of watermarks, but I can see what you guys are saying with regards to possible ebay trolls. But if one were to be implemented it should be in the back, not in the front. The main allure of the manual insert is the nice cover art. 

yeah i take that back it would suck

[mrhaboobi]

I did say Back cover in my suggestion , just to avoid the fronts being "spoilt"

[nat]

I don't know what happened to the message I posted earlier, but....

I think the "This is a copy 2010" deal at the bottom of the page is sufficient. These look really nice. Whenever I buy a game that doesn't come with a manual or cover, I usually print one out from the super-low res scans over at PCECP. This would be a fantastic alternative. I have a handful of games I'd buy these for.

[Sparky]

thanks guys all great points but i dont think a water mark is needed, making the disclaimer bigger sure but remember this is like a 2 page cheat sheet, kinda like what blockbuster and some game stores did back in the day for snes & genny rentals... They put this sheet in the rental box for game controls and a bit of the story <<shrugs>>

How about under 20 posts here and i dont sell? or leave it to my discresion as members with rep i will sell to, not looking to get rich off of selling $3 manuals  its something i did for a member and they turned out great so cover my cost and shipping and only the good guys get them simple as that.

[mrhaboobi]

well for the right price id take one of each great idea and didnt realise at first they were cut down versions   thought you were considering a full manual reprint.

[Mathius]

20 posts might be kinda low, Sparky. We have plenty of people who just post to sell their wears that have more than 20 posts. How about 50 posts, and then only if they are seen in the discussion forums enough to be recognized?

[chany60126]

I agree with Mathius. I think 50 is a nice round number to weed out any duds.

[BlueBMW]

I suppose you could restrict it to teh fackler ebay members... not sure what everyone would think of that though.

[Duo_R]

I made a YS I & II tray liner a long time ago...and a manual cover and insert for Street Fighter I:

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=6048.0

/finalnov6ysscancopykr0.jpg

Someone also made a Gates of Thunder insert that I have in mine, looks pretty nice.

Some replacement tray liners would be cool too; at least for Gate of Thunder and the pack-in version of Ys Book I & II.

[Ceti Alpha]

Those look great, Sparks. I'd definitely snag some of those up.

[Sparky]

Thanks again guys looks like everyone is liking this idea so far, so ok post count of 50 sounds good and i will use my discretion as well.

Also having them ONLY for the F-ebay crew will only bring people to da club just to get them, and the club does not want that. Anyway no worries they will only be available here on pcengine-fx.com and only here.

I will make a list of the ones i will be doing and everyone's thoughts on the choices.
<<huggles>>

[henrycsc]

The more I think about this, the more I see that I do have a big problem with the idea of making bootleg manuals.  How many people have been burned by overpaying for Sapphire boots?  This is what will eventually happen, no matter how good the intentions are.

Putting a disclaimer on the back of the manual isn't going to protect a buyer that only sees a picture of the front.  Are you guys really going to expect every seller to now provide front and back scans of every manual?  What about scans of every page?  Seriously.

I can relate to wanting complete stuff, but there's got to be a line!  If you're going to offer an alternative, it should be that - not a bootleg.  I think you could just as easy make a retro cover (maybe with a small 1/8" border) around the image (you could use the color associated with the game type even.)  Problem solved. 

Sparky, I really hope you think this cover thing through.  It's no different than someone getting bootleg boxes made.  It will happen.  How will you react to that when it does? 

This time - I voted.   NO, not they way you show them!

[Duo_R]

A good seller discloses a repro cover. A bad one sells it like original and gets striked on ebay and bad feedback.

[chany60126]

Anybody in possesion of these will know that they are not the real thing. Watermarked pages or special borders aren't necessary. The disclaimer at the bottom should suffice, not to mention the lack of pages within. The seller assumes full responsibilty for the listing of the game regardless whether or not they accept returns.. All a buyer has to do is ask the seller before buying if it's the original manual. Besides, Sparky won't be selling these to everybody. He will use discretion to choose who to sell too. Ponying up $$$ on ebay just to get the original manual is flat out ridiculous for a couple of games, particularly Magical Chase.

[henrycsc]

So when you sell your copy 2 years from now to someone and let them know that it's a copied manual, how the hell does sparky control who YOU sell it to.  It WILL happen, no matter what you say...Even if Sparky numbers every manual and keeps track of who he sells it to.

I'm not saying that anyone who buys directly from Sparky will screw somebody - you guys probably wont.  But if Sparky thinks that everyone who buys one of his manuals will never sell to someone else, I think he's wrong.  It's that 2nd or 3rd tier buyer that Sparky has no control over even if the copies are numbered.

In my eyes, what you're proposing is a bootleg, plain and simple.  Sparky, if you decide to sell these, I would like to get a copy of every manual you produce so I can document what is a boot and what is legit, though I would really rather not have to do it.

[turbogrfxfan]

do it do it do iti would sure but alot of loosies anstead of shelling out mad cash for a complete game.  The thing is Im a gamer.  Im not collecting shit in hopes to make a profit.  I do think it nice to have a manual though.  I think cover art is important on pce games.  tg16 I dont really care.  I vote to take our a corner and write copy in it.  If you guys are are really about the game buy one with the real manual. if ya wanna be a cheap bastard like me buy a loosie and a manual that says copy on the cover or whatever is not my call. I due understand about them being sold on ebay but yeah it is the sellers responsability and as a buyer you can always ask a question.  Know who u are buying from. there is risk in everything.  You dont think that someone out there right now has a fake manual in their collection and not know it.  Im sure of it. please its a huge selling point of a game.

dude if its not even a complete manual(which i think is kinda lame.  I wouldnt even puut anything on the front.

[nat]

So when you sell your copy 2 years from now to someone and let them know that it's a copied manual, how the hell does sparky control who YOU sell it to.  It WILL happen, no matter what you say...Even if Sparky numbers every manual and keeps track of who he sells it to.

I'm not saying that anyone who buys directly from Sparky will screw somebody - you guys probably wont.  But if Sparky thinks that everyone who buys one of his manuals will never sell to someone else, I think he's wrong.  It's that 2nd or 3rd tier buyer that Sparky has no control over even if the copies are numbered.

In my eyes, what you're proposing is a bootleg, plain and simple.  Sparky, if you decide to sell these, I would like to get a copy of every manual you produce so I can document what is a boot and what is legit, though I would really rather not have to do it.

I think you're really overthinking the matter. The eBay feedback system will weed out any sellers who try to pass these off as "real." Yeah they might look like the real deal from the cover, but it's VERY obvious when you open them up and they don't have any pages. Not to mention the "This is a copy" disclaimer inside.

It's not like the Sapphire situation where the, erm, "second run" was created to look as close to the original as possible. These are designed to look nice from the front, and that is their sole purpose. They are not intended to duplicate the full manuals or "fool" anyone.

[mrhaboobi]

henry,  i understand your point and would fully agree IF these were complete reproductions of the manual, if they are just a single page slip which are different to the manual then they SHOULD be ok, but i also tend to think there should be something on the front to show they are not manuals.  as we all know someone in future will get a MC insert, take a photo  and then sell the game with manaul, and unless you can tell from all pages including front that this is not original then it MAY become a future problem.  I like the idea, and i like what has been produced, but i also think they need clear disclaimers on all sides .. so even though i voted yes im really on the fence depending on the disclaimer stuff.