• News

  • TV & Film

  • PlayStation

  • Xbox

  • Nintendo

  • PC

  • Reviews

  • News

  • TV & Film

  • PlayStation

  • Xbox

  • Nintendo

  • PC

  • Reviews

  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Threads
Submit Your Content
Retro Games Dealer Accused Of Selling $100,000 Of Fake Merchandise

Home> News

Published 16:45 1 Jun 2022 GMT+1

Retro Games Dealer Accused Of Selling $100,000 Of Fake Merchandise

Enrico Ricciardi has been accused of selling counterfeit copies of a number of retro games including Ultima 1 and Akalabeth: World of Doom.

Kate Harrold

Kate Harrold

Gaming is an expensive hobby, there’s no doubt about that. When you combine the money we’re all forking out on consoles, brand new games, second-hand titles, ‘cheap’ sale purchases and our online subscriptions, it’s a hefty bill.

If you’re into retro gaming as well, you’re probably spending even more. Thanks to its lucrative nature, more people than ever are cashing in on the retro gaming market but an unfortunate byproduct of that is the increasing presence of fakes. One retro gaming dealer has recently been accused of selling $100,000 worth of fake vintage merchandise. Yikes.

Take a look at this genius gamer who managed to manufacture a wider version of the Game Boy Advance. Very impressive.

Enrico Ricciardi is an active member of the retro gaming community but was recently blocked from the Big Box PC Game Collector’s Group after several members claimed to have been scammed by him. The merchandise in question is mainly linked with the Ultima series and Akalabeth: World of Doom.

As reported by Kotaku, the victims have put together a public document featuring the discrepancies they all noted including irregularities with labels, fonts and logos. One customer of Ricciardi noticed tiny dot-like patterns on his instruction booklet - the same kind that are commonly found on scanned documents. Another victim of the reported scam noted how a floppy disk label was unnaturally long, covering parts of the disk that are typically displayed.

Advert

Twitter user Dominus_Exult is one of Ricciardi’s ex-customers. Alongside a picture of the counterfeit merchandise he’d purchased over the years, he wrote, “This used to be the centre pieces of my collection. Rare and expensive old games. Now it turns out I‘ve been scammed and sold forgeries by a well known figure in the Ultima and retro games community along with many others.”

The key piece of evidence is that many of the games Ricciardi sold are in fact blanks, which has gone unnoticed for a number of years. The affected collectors explained, “The goal in getting these games is not to play them, but to collect them [...] Testing a 40-year-old disk can risk damaging the disk. Further, some collectors do not have access to the computers which originally ran these games.”

According to the group, a black box copy of Ultima 1 may have even fooled expert grading company WATA. Ricciardi is yet to respond to the allegations and no legal proceedings are yet underway. The group said in their document that “the individuals affected are choosing the best recourse for them and do not wish to discuss this publicly.”

Featured Image Credit: Lorenzo Herrera via Unsplash, California Pacific Computer Company

Topics: Retro Gaming, Real Life

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

5 mins ago
15 mins ago
16 mins ago
an hour ago
  • Bandai Namco Entertainment/Sony Interactive EntertainmentBandai Namco Entertainment/Sony Interactive Entertainment
    5 mins ago

    PlayStation Surprise Freebie Announced For Major Upcoming Release

    We can’t wait for this!

    News
  • NintendoNintendo
    15 mins ago

    Legend of Zelda Fans Gearing Up For New Release

    Could tomorrow bring good news?

    News
  • NintendoNintendo
    16 mins ago

    Animal Crossing 2026 Return Has Gamers Praying

    We'll know more on Friday

    News
  • Sony Interactive EntertainmentSony Interactive Entertainment
    an hour ago

    Uncharted 5 Be Damned, We’re Getting the Next Best Thing

    Nathan Drake is set to return courtesy of fans

    News
  • PlayStation Plus new free games are retro bangers we've dearly missed
  • PlayStation Plus quietly adds excellent new perk for you retro gamers
  • Beloved PlayStation 1 Gem Quietly Lands On PS5 Out of Nowhere
  • Pokémon Emerald Seaglass one of the best ‘Mon games in years, fans agree