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  • Joined: 10 Apr 2002
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SMS games in Arabic, with Arabic manuals
Post Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2002 3:25 pm
I'd like to know if Altered Beast came with the standard multi-lingual instructions, and separate Arabic instructions.

Thanks in advance,
Marc Klemp
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Post Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2002 12:24 pm
well, that depends entirely on waht system/nationality you got it for.
the US genesis/megadrive version that i have diidnt come with
anyhting but a..like 4 page manual in english.

though i cannot vouch for any other nationality, or for the sms.
 
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Post Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2002 1:45 pm
Quote
> well, that depends entirely on waht system/nationality you got it for.
> the US genesis/megadrive version that i have diidnt come with
> anyhting but a..like 4 page manual in english.

> though i cannot vouch for any other nationality, or for the sms.

Hmm, well I'm talking about the European SMS version, and I ask because I have both (and a whole bunch of other manuals, I have no idea from where:) So I'd like to know if they belong to the game.
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Post Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2002 1:32 pm

Quote
> Hmm, well I'm talking about the European SMS version, and I ask because I have both (and a whole bunch of other manuals, I have no idea from where:) So I'd like to know if they belong to the game.

never heard about arabic text, only ever seen the standard 6 (sometimes 5) languages.. evidence of a previously uninvestigated teritory perhaps?
 
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Post Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2014 3:52 pm
Reviving a 2002 thread.

This appeared already a few years ago but I can't find the thread on SMS Power. Two other people apparently found Altered Beast with Arabic instructions. Both found in France I think?

I don't know more about potential localization for arab countries, potentially North Africa.? It would be good to have close up of the manual and box.
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Post Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2014 4:51 pm
Seems to be here:

http://shinobiman.proboards.com/post/88264/thread

warriors33 wrote
today , i received Altered Beast with a second booklet ( in muslim i think ) , this booklet is like the "ozi" booklet , all the booklet is in muslim , it's the first time that i see that :o, happy to have this one ;D

Private Joker wrote
That's interesting, I haven't seen that before either. Could you provide bigger pictures?
Is it also in reversed order?

warriors33 wrote
i just have a poor phone for picture , i try tomorrow to take better picture , yes it's reversed order , but they don't have picture page 24 and page 28 of the original booklet , only 4 pages duplex which unfolds horizontally

gallos_11 wrote
Amazing :o

From which country did you buy it?

Bock wrote
In "muslim" ? Are you sure its not in Christian or Jewish ?
....

Very cool find tho.!

warriors33 wrote
hi Gallos ;) , i find it in France ( i'm french )

gallos_11 wrote
I suppose it came from Algeria... ;)

warriors33 wrote
maybe i don't know , must do some search for that ^^

ninjabearhug wrote
Any chance you could do a close up photo of that? Is the SEGA logo in Arabic too?

warriors33 wrote
yes SEGA logo is in arabic i think , sorry for the photos , today i don't have time to take more photo , i try to take more photo this week end

Batman666 wrote
Haha, never seen that before. Really cool, same font and everything :)

grolt wrote
Haha is right, that's amazing. When SEGA said "Now there are no limits", they meant it!

warriors33 wrote
SEGA rules the world ^^

Bock wrote
The bottom left logo looks like it could be the distribution company logo (if not the Sega one which they wouldn't translate i think), can you get a clearer picture and i'll get it read?

warriors33 wrote
on a page of the booklet , he wrote " DOTTS " , it's the only thing that i can't read ^^ , ( maybe is the distribution company .... ) I'll do some research on that, it may be interesting... sorry for the photo but I still do not buy digital camera ( always my poor phone :/ )

...and that seems to be it.
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Post Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2014 7:00 pm
In France I know that warriors33 have a copy (found in France) and also DrRotule have one copy, this one: http://www.ebay.fr/itm/Altered-Beast-sur-Master-System-Envoi-gratuit-/3511602703...
 
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Post Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2014 2:33 pm
I have sent more informations about this arabic version of altered beast to Bock. He will soonly share with you the pictures and scans in this topic. As I m new here, I can t post links and related pictures.

If you need more informations let me know!
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Post Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2014 6:08 pm
DrRotule wrote
If you need more informations let me know!


Yes : I'd like to know how to contact Mistress Rita ;)
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Post Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2014 6:13 pm
Really interesting.
I've seen once a megadrive game in arabic (mutant league hockey).
Sold on ebay by a seller located in the Emirates.
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Post Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2014 8:15 pm
To be as complete as possible, I just would like to add that the blue printed on the arabic manual (that is not exactly the same color that the european manual) looks like to the blue printed on the swedish manual
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Post Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2014 8:25 pm
Here's the mail DrRotule sent me

I found this game few weeks ago and Bock invites me to share some informations with you.

I found this game few weeks ago on the french version of ebay. This was a BIN item. The only known copy of this game was owned by another french collector (found in a big french website named leboncoin). To my knowledge, these are the only two known master system game with arabian booklet.

It is like an european altered beast with an additionnal arabian booklet.

The box is the 5 languages variation of the game. Please note there is a "R" copyright in the SEGA written in the booklet where as only SEGA without R is written in the insert.

The arabian booklet is slightly bigger than the european one.

A company named DOTTS appears on the back cover of the booklet

I don t speak arab language but we can see a reference to the master system 2 and megadrive prooving that this arabian booklet doesn t come from another version of the game (pc, amiga, etc).
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Post Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2014 9:21 pm
Very interesting, thanks for posting. Using OCR and Google translate the small print on the back cover seems to say registered in Saudi Arabia with registration number, telephone number and fax? number. Would require someone who speaks Arabic to confirm.
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Post Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2014 6:47 pm
I asked my mother,

Title:
الوحش المعدل
~ translate to Altered Beast

Logo:
سيجا
Sega

Bottom line (stray parenthesis I didn't manage to remove **)

ص.ب: ٨٣٦١جدة ٢١٤٨٢. المملكة العربية السعودية.تليفون :٦٤٣٣٨٣٨(٠٢) فاكس:٦٤٣٣٨٨(٠٢) ().

P.O Box 8561 Jedda 21482 . Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Telephone
(02)6433838 . Fax : (02) 6433088.

Looking it up in more details. Probably difficult to trace.

** manipulating arabic text on a window computer is completely crazy and puzzling. A humbling experience. The cursor jumps around in ways I couldn't comprehend.
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Post Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2014 8:36 pm
I have an interesting link that will give us more information about this arabic altered beast
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Post Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2014 8:37 pm
here is the link posted by a MSF member here (http://www.mastersystem-france.com/t4925p15-altered-beast-version-arabe#110477)

http://www2.pf-x.net/~informant/saudi/groupalesayi.htm

It apparently says that Dotts is a company owned by a bigger arabic group named Alesayi that has several deals with japanese electronic suppliers like matsushita
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Post Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2014 9:01 pm
Cool, I've heard of Alesayi, that makes a lot of sense. Aleysayi were Sega's distributor in the Gulf region from their formation in 1992, where it was known that they distributed the Mega Drive and later consoles, but it wasn't documented (in English at least) that they also distributed the SMS in the region. The 1992 date fits with the SMS2 mentioned in the Altered Beast manual (a game which originally released in 1989).
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Post Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2015 9:07 pm
Here's a Mega Drive II with the same DOTTS logo as in the Altered Beast manual. Some Asian Mega Drives have multiple languages including Arabic in the manual, but I don't think that was the case with SMS. Maybe there are DOTTS SMS consoles out there with a DOTTS translated manual like Altered Beast.
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Post Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2015 6:49 pm
Reviving the topic because we uploaded two arabic version of megadrive games on guardiana:

Fifa 95
http://www.guardiana.net/MDG-Database/Mega%20Drive/FIFA%20Soccer%2095/#v7993

And Mutant league hockey:
http://www.guardiana.net/MDG-Database/Mega%20Drive/Mutant%20League%20Hockey/#v79...

As you can see, they were distributed by Al Yousuf Computers (which still exists and seems to be a part of a big electronic stuff distributor):

http://ayc-me.com/
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Post Posted: Mon Feb 29, 2016 10:02 pm
DOTTS SMS II. Supposedly new, but I can't see any Arabic documentation from the pictures. At $300 it's a bit too expensive to find out.


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Post Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 12:18 pm
I asked for the model number, they were kind enough to take a picture. It's quite unusual!

Undocumented model number "3006-39" containing undocumented region code "39".
NTSC
1992

Saudi Arabia had a strange mix of standards, using both SECAM and PAL, with 127/220/380V and 50/60Hz for their electricity. The rest of the Gulf countries just used standard PAL-B/G 220V 50Hz like most of Europe. As the box also has a 127V sticker on it, I think that this region code must be for Saudi Arabia specifically rather than for the Gulf in general.

Seeing as Saudi Arabia didn't seem to use NTSC, I wonder if this was a true NTSC console, or really just "PAL 60".

Really low serial number here, just #206 of this model manufactured by WKK in 1992.

This is also the only NTSC model manufactured past 1990, the only "black" NTSC model, and the only NTSC model manufactured outside of Japan (those were by manufacturer "B" = "Seiyo Denshi" according to Sega Saturn labels) that I've seen (those details are naturally all linked).
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Post Posted: Wed May 25, 2016 3:18 pm
BKK wrote
The rest of the Gulf countries just used standard PAL-B/G 220V 50Hz like most of Europe. As the box also has a 127V sticker on it, I think that this region code must be for Saudi Arabia specifically rather than for the Gulf in general.


I found an SMS II for sale in the United Arab Emirates, it was PAL-G as expected, with undocumented model number / region code "3006-21". Also from 1992.
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3006-21 UAE.jpg

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Game Gear Columns with Arabic Sticker
Post Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2016 6:56 am
Spotted on eBay.

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Post Posted: Thu Oct 03, 2019 2:41 am
From a French group on Facebook named ''Les Passionné(e)s de la Master System'', I present to you an Arabic manual for Cyber Shinobi !!!

 
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Post Posted: Thu Oct 03, 2019 8:13 pm
Interesting find !
Once again, the DOTT company logo.
Wondering if there are more of those out there
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Post Posted: Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:01 pm
Kenneth wrote
Interesting find !
Once again, the DOTT company logo.
Wondering if there are more of those out there


Maybe DOTTS was the arabic partner for Sega. Like Ozisoft in Australia and so on. If these games are specific to the arabic region, they are probably quite rare after all the years.
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Post Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2019 6:43 am
Looks like the fellow collector also has a power strike 2 and an out run 3d arabic manual !
Asked him if he could scan them.
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Psycho Fox Arabic Manual
Post Posted: Fri Jan 10, 2020 1:17 pm
I picked up this copy of Psycho Fox recently on eBay UK because it had a second Arabic manual. It isn't fold out like Altered Beast and The Cyber Shinobi rather it has a single staple through the centre. It appears to be left handed which makes sense as Arabic is apparently read from right to left. The other interesting thing to note is that the distributors logo on the back of the manual appears to be backwards. I've kept my eye out for both black and white and Arabic manuals over the last 6 years or so but this is the first one I've ever seen for sale so I jumped all over it!
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Post Posted: Fri Jan 10, 2020 7:58 pm
Awesome find & post, retrokevretro.

I've been fascinated with these Arabic manuals (and their Kufiq-esque logo work) ever since warriors33 first posted about his rare SMS acquisitions / wants on another forum I frequented.

And now the Psycho Fox manual has been preserved..

Thank you!
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Post Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2020 4:05 pm
Extra picture of a GG game (Super Off Road) courtesy of Abdulhaleem from Saudi Arabia:

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Post Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 1:02 pm
Just found this Dotts warranty card for the megadrive on the net, contacting the owner to see if he could scan it

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Post Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2021 4:21 pm
This just showed up on a Facebook group

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Post Posted: Sat Aug 14, 2021 9:29 pm
I was in conversation with someone today who had posted this photo on instagram. He said it was a magazine advertisement from a general magazine, not a gaming magazine.

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Post Posted: Thu Aug 19, 2021 1:38 pm
Does he know from which country the ad was ?
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Post Posted: Thu Aug 19, 2021 9:41 pm
Kenneth wrote
Does he know from which country the ad was ?


It’s from Egypt
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Post Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2021 7:41 am
Last edited by rickthecollector on Sun Dec 05, 2021 9:52 am; edited 3 times in total
Well I just came in to inform you all with this weird but true fact: Alesayi/Dotts were actually also the distributor of Ni****do in the Middle East, up until Itochu's branch in the UAE were given that job away in probably 1995, which isn't all that surprising seeing how they handled those consoles poorly compared to SEGA's. They distributed Gameboy and NES consoles and games, and perhaps even the SNES, all in the European PAL GPS/GPO (which means that they were either imported from Ni****do Japan or more likely Ni****do Of Europe), variant in the same time period when they distributed SEGA products. They might be one of many distributors that Ni****do commissioned for the region though, seeing how the Gameboy was in such high demand, however it is what it is. Oddly enough, they did not provide Ni****do with the same level of promotion and care, and have even failed to include translated manuals like they did with SEGA, and you would be forgiven for thinking that they both had different distributors in the regions. How funny though that they were the same distributor of two rivals, they must have been the only distributor in the world to do that, haha.
Here is a NES console that was known to be sold by them, courtsey of Joshua Rogers, see attachments.

Well I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised considering the distributor's initial purpose was to import all sorts of electronics from all the well-known Japanese companies.
Also why is You-Know-Who (Ni****do, arrgh not again) censored? This supposed to happen? Sorry I'm new in here.
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Front cover of Alesayi United-distributed NES (1992)
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Super Mario Bros that came with the console (GPS coded, notice that there is no arabic manual included)
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Post Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2021 8:08 am
We censor Ni****do as a joke because what greater swear word is there?
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Post Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2022 10:14 am
Now what evidence do we have to know that they distributed the Saturn and Mega CD in the UAE and Middle East? Can anyone provide us with photos of some games and consoles or info.
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Post Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2023 5:25 pm
Kenneth wrote
Just found this Dotts warranty card for the megadrive on the net, contacting the owner to see if he could scan it


https://consolevariations.com/collectibles/sega-master-system-2-arabic-warranty-...

Here's the SMS II warranty, and as Sega didn't have an Asian manual with Arabic it looks like they made their own.

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Post Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2023 12:51 pm
Seen on facebook, strider arabic manual

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