Dude those are both real. The one on the left is older, that's all. A good indicator is that it was Made in Japan, where Oink is HQ'd, while ninety nine point nine nine percent of counterfeits are from China. Some editions have more or fewer languages, some have a white cube to count oxygen. Naturally you will find slight color variations in products made in different facilities, minor variations in component quality, etc. I've had expansions where the card backs don't match because of the different facilities used.
While some variation exists throughout production cycles, the quality of the product usually isn't this poor. Oink games is a Japanese publisher and I doubt they'd allow such a terrible iteration, especially if it's made in their own country. The similar colors of the red and orange divers alone are reasons to return the game and be suspicious of the authenticity. Every official image released does not show a darker color oxygen marker and the colors of the divers are clearly distinguished. And being made in China does not indicate authenticity. Target in the US sells a copy of the game that comes in a bigger box that is also made in China.
I am finding quite a lot of these small games and card based games on sites like Temu frequently at half to a quarter of the price offered on more reputable sites. To be honest the quality of the ones I have purchased are reasonable and are fairly close to the quality of the originals, where I have been able to compare. I have asked myself if the game creators are getting any payment at all, given the significant price difference.
There were definitely original versions of the game with the same set of languages as the counterfeit one. So that in itself isn't a sign. Oink generally does multiple versions with "overlapping" languages for their more popular games. I suspect the fake was a copy of one of the many different real versions.
The like color of the red and "orange" diver was what was most disappointing to me. The thin tokens and typos added on to that feeling, which made me decide to return it and look for another copy. Even though I spent a little bit extra, I think it looks and even feels much better.
Dude those are both real. The one on the left is older, that's all. A good indicator is that it was Made in Japan, where Oink is HQ'd, while ninety nine point nine nine percent of counterfeits are from China. Some editions have more or fewer languages, some have a white cube to count oxygen. Naturally you will find slight color variations in products made in different facilities, minor variations in component quality, etc. I've had expansions where the card backs don't match because of the different facilities used.
While some variation exists throughout production cycles, the quality of the product usually isn't this poor. Oink games is a Japanese publisher and I doubt they'd allow such a terrible iteration, especially if it's made in their own country. The similar colors of the red and orange divers alone are reasons to return the game and be suspicious of the authenticity.
Every official image released does not show a darker color oxygen marker and the colors of the divers are clearly distinguished. And being made in China does not indicate authenticity. Target in the US sells a copy of the game that comes in a bigger box that is also made in China.
I am finding quite a lot of these small games and card based games on sites like Temu frequently at half to a quarter of the price offered on more reputable sites. To be honest the quality of the ones I have purchased are reasonable and are fairly close to the quality of the originals, where I have been able to compare. I have asked myself if the game creators are getting any payment at all, given the significant price difference.
There were definitely original versions of the game with the same set of languages as the counterfeit one. So that in itself isn't a sign. Oink generally does multiple versions with "overlapping" languages for their more popular games. I suspect the fake was a copy of one of the many different real versions.
The like color of the red and "orange" diver was what was most disappointing to me. The thin tokens and typos added on to that feeling, which made me decide to return it and look for another copy. Even though I spent a little bit extra, I think it looks and even feels much better.
Do you plan on adding this video to the DSA video section on BGG?
I use BGG frequently but did not consider that. I might as well so more people can discuss whether or not I actually received a counterfeit game.