Real or fakes / counterfeits??

[Kris]

I have been looking at a number of Sierra games on eBay that look suspicious, but maybe someone with more knowledge of Sierra’s history can confirm if they are real or fake.

What’s common to these items is that:

– the disks have plain white labels with relatively crude printing on them.
– the disks often do not include the interpreter version (or list “Int: n/a”), which is odd.
– the box is not the two-piece “Sierra” printed kind, but rather a plain white box opened from each end.
– the manuals are black & white and almost look photocopied
– the cover art has the specifications printed in the usual spot but in a different style and part of the box art, not a sticker.

Here are some current examples:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/353860762394
https://www.ebay.com/itm/265351596742
https://www.ebay.com/itm/203732495693

Are these just a different style of genuine Sierra product, or are these elaborate fakes? They certainly don’t seem to have the same quality as the “classic” Sierra versions.

Ken, if you’re out there, this ought to be an easy one to verify?

[Talking Bear]

Those are probably 3rd party re-issues. You can read a general description here:
https://www.vintage-sierra.net/slash.php

They probably aren’t fake or counterfeit, but they also are not the original Sierra versions, except that the bits on the disk are basically the same. The equivalent of comparing a First Edition to a 50th paperback reprint.

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