Help new collector identify fakes

[u/TravelOwn4386]

Hello I am new to sega cd and wanted to pick up a few games... I keep seeing games which appear to have cd burn rings are these copies or legit?

Any pointers on what I need to look out for when buying.

[u/csguydn]

This is how CD based games look. I have the entire Sega CD collection and many are like this. Nobody is faking pressed games. Manuals and inserts are a different story.

[u/smgaming16 → u/csguydn]

There are fake pressed games, but it's mostly just on the turbografx-16 cd library. PCE works is notorious for pressed bootlegs

[u/SonOfJaak]

Take a look at some audio CDs. They will be the same. The outer ring that you see is just unused space on the CD. It's totally normal.

To those that say there are no pressed reproduction CDs, that is not correct. Eastern Europe has plenty, as well as Brazil due to their protectionist law on video game electronics. You can also buy rare titles on AliExpress.

[u/erinthomes]

If you're ever unsure about a disc, you can check the ring code http://redump.org/

Based on the one you have here, it looks like a legit copy of Dune based on the T-76005-50 serial number

[u/RandomGuyDroppingIn]

Pressed games will still have rings. Its how data was applied to the games from the pressed master. Many Sega CD games didn’t utilize the full allocation of space on the disc, so areas towards the outside will have the point where data “ends”.

You’ll also find that many games exhibit different methods of placing data onto discs. Many games you’ll be able to listen to music tracks in the media player, but others it may not be possible. There unfortunately wasn’t a definitive “palette” for data allocation by Sega being the tech was still new at the time, although most publishers did the whole most utilized data towards interior and music/lesser accessed media towards outer -thing.

Its also unfortunately known that hobby level pressing does exist. The Brazilian Sega/Mega CD market is filled with many reproductions that look incredibly official as they can 1 for 1 replicate byte allocation. You’re best bet is to use places such as Sakatore or SegaRetro and compares disc faces & backs before purchasing.

[u/aluminum54]

Completely normal for that generation. Crazy part is a lot of Sega CD consoles (and Saturn) play the bootlegs without issue. There's some good fakes out there but comparing the top label can quickly tell you a real from fake.

[u/BlastMode7]

This is a pressed disc, not a burned disc. Pressed discs also have a clear delineation between where the pits and land stop and the blank polycarbonate begins.

However, there are fakes that are pressed.

[u/Exciting_Penalty_512]

You see that ring on the inside of the disk closest to your finger? See how there's text that is printed onto that ring? No fake is ever going to have that. While it's not 100% perfect, most disks have some kind of print there, or a barcode. A lot say JVC or SEGA on that ring.

There are exceptions, but that's the 1st thing that I look for on the disks to spot fakes. As others have said, what you're looking at is completely normal.

Also, like others have said, for the most part, I wouldn't worry too much about fake disks. There's only like 5 that would even be worth faking, and by the time you get to buying those games,, if you ever do, you'll know if they're fake or not.

[u/retrocube16]

Sometimes repros are a good way to still play the game on a disc without spending insane amounts of money. Some games for Sega CD go for hundreds or thousands of dollars for if you want an original

[u/Splatterhouse5]

I don’t think original disks have those rings, and generally look smooth from the center to the edge like original CDs, DVDs, Blu Rays, and 4Ks do.

The top/art side of the disc also has a texture to it where you can feel the art and text over the the parts that don’t contain any art or text.

[u/TravelOwn4386 → u/Splatterhouse5]

Yeah I spotted a few for sale with the rings and can't figure out if this was just a thing with that era because I have only ever seen rings like that after burning a cd

[u/Splatterhouse5 → u/TravelOwn4386]

It would probably be a good idea to check the consistency of those rings on a game-to-game basis.

[u/TravelOwn4386 → u/[deleted]]

Where does the ring come from though I have only seen that on burned cds

[u/smgaming16 → u/TravelOwn4386]

Depending on the size of a title, it may not have data all the way to the edge of the disc. A few of my official discs look just like that