Table of Contents
Game Boy Advance SP Labels
Recently, observing the secondary market for consoles, the issue of rampant intellectual property theft has arisen. Thus, a number of Chinese manufacturers are increasing the production of unlicensed copies of rare, limited-edition cases and, accordingly, user labels on them (stickers containing the manufacturer's trademark, name, production date, and other information).
Given the value of limited-edition Game Boy Advance SP cases, how soon will someone clever start passing off this product as original?
And there are already some prerequisites for such a development. Recently, Chinese manufacturers made an interesting move: on AliExpress, not only very rare cases of limited editions from Pokemon Centers (for example, Rayquaza) appeared, but also cases with a full set, including the box, label, and battery cover sticker:
How to determine that the case differs from the genuine one, especially when buying online, is not clear. But the weakest link here is the labels, about which there is very little information on the internet. And most of the information consists of misconceptions about seemingly trivial things, for example, I came across a discussion where an Australian said that the Australian version of the Game Boy Advance SP was not released.
In this article, we have tried to collect and systematize information for you about possible labels, their features and differences, mandatory elements of labels, as well as other facts. And we will look at labels that are sold on different sites.
First, we will look at the common parts for all labels, and then we will look at the labels in the following order: American, European, Australian, Japanese, and Chinese.
Common Parts for All Labels
Of course, at first glance, all labels are different, but still, they have several parts that unite them.
1. The famous phrase – MADE IN CHINA. And yes, this is important because you can come across, for example, such a sticker (Actually, this can be unexpected, and you might not think about it, but Game Boy Advance SPs were only produced in China, although simple Game Boy Advances were produced in Japan):
2. The inscription Game Boy Advance SP tm
It comes in two versions, where the letters SP are a continuation of the words Game Boy Advance and where they are separated from these words:
Both options are quite normal and are found in all regional versions of the consoles.
3. I spent a lot of time trying to find what connects the label with the internals of the Game Boy Advance SP. And it turned out that there is one inscription that connects the inscription MODEL NO. AGS-001 (101) and what is inside.
And the most interesting thing is that there is only one inscription that connects the label and the board inside, and no, it is not the serial number of the console, but a small inscription in the corner that looks like this (not on the Chinese version):
These inscriptions can be divided into 4 parts:
C/ - means that the console was produced at a factory in China (if there is no such inscription, then in Japan, duplicates the Made in inscription, however, Game Boy Advance SPs were not produced in Japan, only in China).
2. AGS / AGT – means the version of the Game Boy Advance SP. AGS – 001, AGT – 101, duplicated on the board:
The numbers on the board C/AGS-CPU-01 or 10, 11, 21, 30 mean the revision of the motherboard.
3. AUS, USA, EUR, JPN – the name of the regional version, but I think you already guessed it. But you should understand that these inscriptions absolutely do not mean that these consoles were sold in these countries. This only means that this console meets the technical requirements of a specific region (each country has different requirements for product labeling, various signs that must be applied to the packaging, we will consider them further).
The main difference was in the packaging, only by the packaging could you understand in which specific country the product was sold.
4. Numbers with letters at the end (1, 2, E4, (E4)-2).
The meaning of these numbers is not very clear, but it is clear that they depend on the release time of the console. That is, the first consoles do not have numbers at the end at all, then a one is added to them, and so on.
Next, we will look at regional labels according to this template:
1. Examples of labels.
2. Serial number.
3. Product markings and symbols
4. Fakes (if any)
American Labels
1. Examples of labels:
2. Serial number:
The serial number on the American console was printed in the format XU00000000[0].
This serial number can be divided into 4 parts: 2 letters, 1 digit, 7 digits, and a digit in a square.
XU – X series console (in this case, Game Boy Advance SP), U – regional version, in this case, USA.
The first digit in the code – has nothing to do with the serial number of the console, but simply all serial numbers for Nintendo consoles start with letters and then one digit. In the case of the Game Boy Advance SP, it can be either 1, 3, 5, or 7 (do not depend on the release date of the console) and possibly 2 (could not find a picture). The presence of numbers 1,3,5,7 does not mean that there must be other numbers between them!
7 digits and the 8th in a square. The first 7 digits are the serial number of the console, and the eighth is a check digit, which is calculated using a tricky mathematical formula.
If you read the barcode, there are no designations or highlights of the last digit, just numbers in a row:
3. Product markings and symbols:
The only marking of this product is the indication of compliance with Part 15 of the rules of the Federal Communications Commission (USA) and the requirements of the ICES-003 Standard (Canada).
In the lower right corner is the inscription (C)2002 (M) 2002 Nintendo, it has two types of writing, including the one already mentioned and the option - (C)(M) 2002 Nintendo. Both options are acceptable.
4. Fakes:
There are three fakes, two are sold on eBay, and the second on AliExpress.
We will not consider the AliExpress option in detail, it is terribly made. The only thing I can say is that its barcode is unreadable.
But I suggest you compare the original and the fakes from eBay!
So, we take the original label:
And now compare it with the fakes:
Everything described below applies equally to both fake versions of the labels (except for one point, where there will be a special clarification).
Comparison table of user labels:
| On the original | On the fakes | |
|---|---|---|
| Inscription «MODEL NO.» | Made with a smaller font than the text of the 2nd and 3rd lines | The font size matches the text of the 2nd and 3rd lines |
| Inscription «Rating» | After the inscription RATING there is a space and then a colon | The colon is attached to the right of the word «RATING» without a space |
| Inscription «BATTERY : Li-ion(AGS-003» | Between the word Li-ion and the first bracket there is no space | There is a space |
| Letter «S» | The end point of the letter lies on the writing line | The end point of the letter is above the writing line, slightly below the middle of the letter |
| Letter «C» | The end point of the letter lies on the writing line | The end point of the letter is above the writing line, slightly below the middle of the letter |
| Letter «G» | The final angular element of the letter is smaller in size and is located to the right of the starting point of the letter | The final angular element of the letter is larger in size and its right part is located at the level of the starting point of the letter |
| Last line of text «C/AGT-USA MADE IN CHINA» | Made with a font size of the main text | Made with a smaller font |
| Logo GAME BOY ADVANCE SP AGS-101 | No dot after the word BOY | There is a dot after the word BOY |
| Logo GAME BOY ADVANCE SP AGS-001 | After the word BOY there should be the sign (R) | After the word BOY there is a dot |
| Phrase « Patents issued and Pending» | The word Pending starts with a capital letter | The word Pending starts with a lowercase letter |
| Serial number | The serial number differs | The serial numbers XU70104040[4], XU13900797[0] are very likely to be the same for all stickers |
European Labels
1. Examples of labels:
2. Serial number:
The serial number on the European console was printed in the format XEH00000000.
This serial number can be divided into 4 parts: 2 letters, 1 letter, 1 digit, and 7 digits.
XE – X series console, E – regional version, in this case, Europe.
H – all versions of labels, except for the American and Chinese, consist of three letters, and the third letter raises questions, most likely it is either the name of the factory, or the assembly line, or anything else. The third letter is always either H or F.
The first digit in the code, as in the American version, does not refer to the console number.
7 digits – the serial number of the console.
3. Product markings and symbols:
This is a rather interesting part because it allows you to identify a fake label due to the pirates' ignorance of European legislation.
CE – a mark of conformity to European requirements, I think everyone has seen this mark.
LGA – voluntary certification for quality (Germany).
GS – also voluntary certification for compliance with the German Product Quality Law.
Toilet on wheels (under the GS sign). We spent 8 hours trying to figure out what it is and why it is on all Game Boys, starting with the Pocket version.
And this is «Bildzeichen nach IEC 60417: Transformator für Spielzeug». Image symbol according to IEC 60417: transformer for toys.
And the very last sign - Crossed-out trash bin with a stripe at the bottom is a sign of compliance with the WEEE Directive (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive) of the European Union. The white stripe under this sign means that the product was produced after August 13, 2005 (clause 4.2 of European Standard No. 50419 of January 2005).
And this is the most interesting sign. It is interesting because it allows you to understand that the console was released after August 13, 2005. That is, the Game Boy Advance SP AGS-101 label cannot be without this sign!
4. Fakes:
As usual, there are three fakes:
The problem with the first label is that it is almost perfect, despite the fact that on this particular label the words: emis and Grobstheim are written crookedly, I think this was quickly corrected because on the next label (version 101) this is not the case.
The only difference is in the font, it is slightly different. And before buying a Game Boy Advance SP with such a label, you need to remember this and compare the fonts of the original with the fake. Perhaps the distinguishing feature is the color of the font in the serial number (it is gray).
But with the 101 version of the label, everything is more fun, as I wrote above, it should have the WEEE sign, which is not there, and that means it is a fake.
The third label is also well made, but not as much as the previous ones. Everything is done in bold font, which immediately catches the eye.
Australian Labels
1. Examples of labels:
2. Serial number:
The serial number on the Australian console was printed in the format XAH00000000.
This serial number can be divided into 4 parts: 2 letters, 1 letter, 1 digit, and 7 digits.
XA – X series console, A – regional version, in this case, Australia.
H – as usual, the third letter is always either H or F.
The first digit in the code does not refer to the console number.
7 digits – the serial number of the console.
3. Product markings and symbols:
The C-Tick sign (black checkmark in a white circle) – complies with Australian safety rules.
ACN 060 566 083 – Australian Company Number, like our TIN, that is, the company number, which, in accordance with the law, must be placed on the product label 060 566 083 is the number of Nintendo Australia Pty Ltd.
4. No fakes found.
Japanese Labels
With the Japanese version, the most interesting story happened, I spent a lot of time trying to find the label of the AGS-101 model, until I found out that the AGS-101 version was NOT released in Japan!
1. Examples of labels:
2. Serial number:
The serial number on the Japanese console was printed in the format XJH00000000.
This serial number can be divided into 4 parts: 2 letters, 1 letter, 1 digit, and 7 digits.
XJ – X series console, J – regional version, in this case, Japan.
H – as usual, the third letter is always either H or F.
The first digit in the code does not refer to the console number.
7 digits – the serial number of the console.
3. Product markings and symbols:
VCCI - Voluntary Control Council for Interference by Information Technology Equipment – (Voluntary Control Council for Interference by Information Technology Equipment) – an organization responsible for the standard for controlling electromagnetic radiation.
Triangle (made of arrows) – a sign of recyclable waste. Refers to the text in the rectangle, which means – rechargeable battery. The lower inscription means – after use, send to a special disposal place.
4. Fakes
This is the very AGS-101 sticker that cannot exist :)
Next comes, it seems, a high-quality fake, but two things are immediately noticeable, there is no line under the Game Boy Advance SP logo, and the serial number is shifted to the right edge.
And the last, the most high-quality fake, which came with new cases. It has one obvious minus – the serial number is shifted to the edge and 2 not obvious ones, on the originals the colons are not pressed against the words, but here they are pressed.
Chinese Labels
These are the very iQue. By the way, many people think that there is no AGS-001 version, but it exists.
1. Examples of labels:
Please note, there is no C/AGS or C/AGT inscription here, but simply the type of console is indicated.
2. Serial number:
The serial number on the Chinese console was printed in the format XQ00000000[0].
This serial number can be divided into 4 parts: 2 letters, 1 digit, 7 digits, and a digit in a square.
Nothing new compared to the American version of the label.
3. Product markings and symbols:
CCC – China Safety Certification.
(10) - EFUP (Environmental Friendly Use Period) – the expected safe use period of the product (without irreversible consequences?). The sign is from China ROHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances)
4. No fakes found.
