SNES Question - "Made In Mexico" releases

[AkiraZueshi]

Hi everyone,

I didn't get a chance to look through the forums to see if there was a thread like this but I had a quick question to anyone who can answer:

I was looking around on the net and couldn't find any answers but I had some SNES games I picked up from a friend (Illusion of Gaia, DKC3, DKC), and noticed they were [Made In Mexico] and not Japan as all the other ones.

I wanted to know if there was any collection difference and if "rarity" was seen as higher with these [Made In Mexico] releases.

I'm a fledgling collector and just wanted to get some feedback from the community! Thanks everyone!

[techwizard]

i'm not 100% sure, but i've seen other games where they were originally made in japan and then later budget re-releases were made in mexico. usually a third party distributor was used for those, do you see any copyright on the cartridge that isn't nintendo or the developer? majesco and ballistic were common for sega, i'm not sure if they did nintendo stuff

[tactical_nuke]

Majesco rereleased the SNES games that say "Assembled in Mexico". They also had the back labels replaced with text that was carved into the cart itself.

"Made in Mexico" releases are just later produced than "Made in Japan" releases and weren't distributed by Majesco.

Correct me if I'm wrong anyone, this is what I've gathered from online sources.

[Techie413]

Flee has it figured correct.  If you see an entry in our database listed as Majesco release, it's likely the assembled/made in Mexico version.  Regarding rarity and value, the Majesco releases tend to be less sought after and valuable than originals by collectors, as would be expected.  Everyone wants a rookie card and not a reprint.

[Addicted]

Also the "Made in Mexico/Majesco" SNES re-releases came with black and white manuals instead of the standard color ones. This may also be the case with the Genesis/GG re-releases but I haven't checked.

[AkiraZueshi]

Thanks for the tips guys. Much appreciated!

I wasn't sure if it was just Majesco because I'm looking through my stuff and I have a DKC3, Goof Troop, Maui Mallard etc.


Addicted: You're right. I picked up a Goof Troop CIB last year on eBay and wondered why the manual was Black and White, and upon looking at that I just checked and it said Made in Mexico.

Thanks again, everyone!

[AkiraZueshi]

Flee:

Also too I looked at an "Assembled in Mexico" and a "Made in Mexico" and the Assembled did have the etchings in the back as you said, the Made ones had the regular sticker.

[Shadow Kisuragi]

Surprised no one yelled my name out here...

"Made in Mexico" refers to Nintendo's transition to production of their cartridges in Mexico. Cartridges will have Part #s prefixed with M/ while manuals will have Part #s prefixed with U/ . The cartridge and box will be printed with "Made in Mexico" on them, and they were printed between 1996-1998.

"Assembled in Mexico" refers to the time period when Majesco purchased distribution rights in North America from Nintendo. The build quality is subpar, since Majesco was not given the source materials for the artwork. This resulted in many subpar re-releases of popular titles, where the artwork was scanned and essentially reproduced. The artwork on the cartridges isn't laminated, the carts either have stickers or embossed print on the back for the legal sticker (on Genesis, black stickers were used to cover up the old shells until Majesco ran out of them), and the manuals are printed in Black & White. The cartridge and box also state "Assembled in Mexico", and the manual will have Majesco's address on it on the back. Late releases titles in the lifespan of Game Gear, Genesis and Super Nintendo were only released by Majesco, like Frogger.

[killerkobra]

Hey Shadow Kisuragi

Any thoughts of this release of Zombies Ate My Neighbors?

[img width=700 height=525]http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/killerkobra/Alternate%20Box%20ZAMN/DSC08031_zps7ded05fd.jpg[/img]

[img width=700 height=525]http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/killerkobra/Alternate%20Box%20ZAMN/DSC08039_zps32a9f267.jpg[/img]

[img width=700 height=525]http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad227/killerkobra/Alternate%20Box%20ZAMN/DSC08032_zps01cbeccf.jpg[/img]

The Cart and Manual are the same as the regular release only the box is different

[Izret101]

Chances are someone just pieced together a CIB copy from parts they found.