Dreamcast-Talk.com

Not entirely sure where to put it or if it deserves its own topic. Maybe i missed a topic somewhere.
Searched a bit and there was some talk about some repros here already: http://dreamcast-talk.com/forum/viewtop ... f=2&t=9905

I came across the seller "CoastlineGames" offering a Witching Hour (my game) rip off (which i feel bad for on seeing the price), Volgarr and other homebrew games for Dreamcast. He/She also offers plenty of funny cartridges.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/386582052/ ... -dreamcast
https://www.etsy.com/listing/464478174/ ... mcast-game

The whole Dreamcast catalogue
https://www.etsy.com/shop/CoastlineGame ... =dreamcast

I know this method of making money is as old as copying the first C64 tape or video bootlegs. I seen plenty of reproduced company made games and "20 games in 1" collections. Screwing over indies is low. Life as an indie dev is already hard enough. Not that the world is coming to love 'n peace and we are start living in utopia tomorrow

Anyone been in such situation before and is there anything that can be done at all?

First step would be to ask the user to stop selling it, especially if it is your game and all. Try to be civil about it, even if you are pissed at them -- a little civility tends to go a long way in sorting these types of things out.

If they refuse, you can report the item to Etsy as not authorized by the copyright holder or something to that effect. There's a link to report the item underneath the "Related to this item" tags under the listing.

Unfortunately, Even if the item does get taken down, that won't probably stop them from re-listing it (although, I don't know what Etsy's policy is with regard to repeatedly doing that).

It is kinda ridiculous how much that person is selling those things for. It certainly costs nowhere near $18-$25 to burn a CD-R and slap it in a slimline case with a label... Alas, they apparently have been doing this for a while. Hell, their Genesis/GameBoy Advance "products" are cheaper in many cases... And those have a lot more oomph to them than a CD-R that anyone could burn!

The other thing you could do is give them a third option; they continue to sell but they must pay you a large percentage in royalties.

I'd got for option 3 :p

I saw this same store on Etsy. I wondered how legit he is. If he's selling bootlegs without permission, then he's a tool! I see he's got a lot of self boot Neo 4 All titles in there too, that I'm sure he didn't break any sweat to program.

His stuff looks amateurish too. Slim cases? He really sprung for that 100 count Memorex carton at Sam's Club for $14.99, didn't he? Disc art is ugly too. No sense of style. If your going to do repros, then create a new label.... except don't put Heath Ledger's face on Genesis Batman games made 20 years before he played the Joker.

kazade wrote:The other thing you could do is give them a third option; they continue to sell but they must pay you a large percentage in royalties.

Given the shoddy quality on display I doubt they move enough inventory to make that worthwhile, but you never know. If you explain your position they may be civil, but if not, report them as many times as it takes.

It's surprising that there are so many sellers nowadays openly selling counterfeit copies of games under the "reproduction" banner, while getting away with it!

I hope the seller will respect your work and will stop selling it.

He's selling one of my freeware games, as well as a few ports that I did. I hope no one is buying them, thinking that they're quality commercial games, because they aren't even close. Decent enough for freeware, but that's it. I've considered reporting him, but going by the zero response that I got the last time someone tried selling Primitive Nightmare, I haven't bothered.

Checking his feedback, I see that people have bought a few of the ports and left him positive reviews. Poor saps.

I remember a long time ago I thought about selling repro Earthbound boxes since I have a minty one and it would've been nice to make some spare change. Didn't go through with it because hey, it's illegal right?...

Fast forward ten years and nobody seems to give a fuck anymore...

Interesting suggestions and experiences. I got a slight update on the story.

First i wrote a civilized and well mannered message pointing out my game + other Dreamcast homebrew are on the list and asking him/her for an explanation.
Big surprise, he/she didn't even bother to reply despite having some activity

1-2 days after i noticed the item (only mine) is removed from the page so i wrote another message. This time suggesting he/she could share profit or ask at least for permission. Again asking for an explanation while telling him/her now that it must be easy to rip off people and hide.

Even bigger surprise! This time i got a reply. Probably cause i mentioned that i have screenshot and backup of the item page hahaha

The reply:

Hello I immediately removed the listing as soon as I saw the original message. Very sorry if you were a part of this game. This game did not have any sales so there was no profit. Sorry again.

Deadly serious business
According to the page the item was online since 5th January, 158 views and 11 people put it into their favorite section.

I don't know if it's anything to go by but the profile says on Etsy since 2015 and 2562 sales (compared to 2506, 7 days ago). If that's true and the average profit from each game is about 5-10$ then it might be more decent profit in 2 years (or maybe only months) than a lot indie devs have.

Here are some archived backup links just in case. Maybe i should prepare some stakes ><

Witch - Volgarr - General/Payment/Shipping/Refunds - DC list 1 - DC list 1 - DC list 2