History Main / NotSoCheapImitation

* Various knockoff ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' action figures have been noticeably superior to the originals.

** CT Toys has made knockoffs of several Spider-Man figures from S.H.Figuarts, including the Tobey Maguire, Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen and Spider-Man 2099. All of them have been very solid and they have teased a symbiote suit Spider-Man.

* There are many Toys/{{LEGO}} like knockoffs ranging from minifigures, equipments, and vehicles that, instead of knocking off LEGO, they made brick set themes that LEGO wouldn't approve, such as the police, the military, and ''Franchise/TheWalkingDead''.

* [[Creator/AlphaGroupCoLtd Auldey's]] clones of Tamiya Toys/Mini4WD cars are noted to be of markedly better quality than the {{shodd|yKnockoffProduct}}ier yet cheaper Tamiya copies from the likes of Jiada, Gokey and Heipao among countless others.

%%%[[folder:Film]]
%%* ''Film/IronMan1'' technically beame this towards ''Film/XMen1'' (made by 20th Century Fox) and ''Film/SpiderMan1'' (made by Sony Pictures) sparked the Comic Book Movie Boom of the 2000s. Marvel made [[StartMyOwn their own]] [[Creator/MarvelStudios film studio]] in response, but Fox and Sony naturally refused to sell the film rights to the X-Men and Spider-Man back to them. Despite this, Marvel went forward and established the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, becoming a new success that not only far usurped the box office records set by the ''X-Men'' and ''Spider-Man'' movies, but fully cemented the Comic Book Movie as a new form of blockbuster and caused many film studios to attempt forming their own cinematic universes using any properties they had.

** The iPod was not the first [=MP3=] player, nor even the first high-capacity hard drive-based version. The [[https://gizmodo.com/apple-ipod-shuffle-creative-casio-intel-mp3-players-bes-1849370269/slides/6 Creative Nomad Jukebox]] hit the market a year earlier than the iPod, but the iPod overcame many of its shortcomings such as limited battery life and a clunky interface, and also had better industrial design.

* Many people dismissed ''{{VideoGame/Palworld}}'' as a ShallowParody of ''{{Franchise/Pokemon}}'' with some sarcastically calling it ''Pokémon Gun'', but almost ''nobody'' [[AndYouThoughtItWouldFail expected this game to be such a success]], selling over ''three million copies in forty hours'' and having over a '''''million''''' concurrent players.It's well-deserved, too; for an Early-Access Title, it's ''very'' highly polished and well-made, with far more content, animations and visual excellence than what ''Pokémon'' is ever capable of doing, at least to some. Many people as a result have even claimed that ''Palworld'' is superior to ''Pokémon'' at this point, citing this alongside many disgruntled fans as a reason for Creator/GameFreak to step up their A-game.

* ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin'' seems like another ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'' clone with arrows scrolling up and the four columns having the same left-down-up-right order, but with the style of a 2000s Flash game. However, thanks to the game's storytelling (the creators advertise the game as more of a "playable cartoon" rather than a RhythmGame) and vibrant cast of characters, it ends up being more popular than ''DDR'' in a number of circles, mainly amongst those in their 20s and younger. [[ComeForTheGameStayForTheMods The game's extensive modding community helps further bolster its popularity]], featuring countless custom songs and storylines.

* ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin'' seems like another ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'' clone with arrows scrolling up and the four columns having the same left-down-up-right order, but with the style of a 2000s Flash game. However, thanks to the game's storytelling (the creators advertise the game as more of a "playable cartoon" rather than a RhythmGame) and vibrant cast of characters, it ends up being more popular than ''DDR'' in a number of circles, mainly amongst those in their 20s and younger.

* ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin'' seems like another ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'' clone with the style of a 2000s Flash game. However, thanks to the game's storytelling (the creators advertise the game as more of a "playable cartoon" rather than a RhythmGame) and vibrant cast of characters, it ends up being more popular than ''DDR'' in a number of circles, mainly amongst those in their 20s and younger.

* Most [[UsefulNotes/{{Emulation}} emulators]] qualify. While emulators that are poorly made and/or early in development are often inferior to the original consoles, it's possible for a well-made emulator to not only flawlessly replicate but surpass the original by adding graphical and/or performance enhancements to games. It's common now for fans to complain that official {{Updated Rerelease}}es of older games fall short what of what unofficial, fanmade emulators can achieve.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Bluey}}'' was designed as an Australian replica of ''WesternAnimation/PeppaPig''. However, [[PeripheryDemographic it is very well-liked by people outside the primary target audience of preschoolers]] and many parents will admit to watching it without their kids present; it ended being more acclaimed and well-liked than ''Peppa Pig'' as that show is often considered annoying or too cloying for adults to enjoy. It even made it onto the Rolling Stone's "100 Best Sitcoms of All Time List" in 2021, being the only show aimed at preschoolers to do so.

* Most [[UsefulNotes/{{Emulation}} emulators]] qualify. While emulators that are poorly made and/or early in development are often inferior to the original consoles, it's possible for a well-made emulator to not only flawlessly replicate but surpass the original by adding graphical and/or performance enhancements to games. It's common now for fans to complain that official {{Updated Rerelease}}es of older fall what of what unofficial, fanmade emulators can achieve.

* Most [[UsefulNotes/{{Emulation}} emulators]] fall into this. While emulators that are poorly made and/or early in development are often inferior to the original consoles, it's possible for a well-made emulator to not only flawlessly replicate but surpass the original by adding graphical and/or performance enhancements to games. It's common now for fans to complain that the proprietary emulators created by video game companies for official rereleases of their games are not as good as their open-source, fanmade counterparts.

** The [=PCjr=], released in 1984, was [=IBM's=] attempt to capturing the home market, where the [=IBM=] PC had struggled due to the machine's low quality graphics and sound. It failed, due to bad marketing from IBM, and the machine's poor compatibility with existing PC hardware and software. Enter [=RadioShack=], who righted the wrongs of the [=PCjr=] with the Tandy 1000, a machine that featured the [=PCjr's=] improved graphics and sound while maintaining 100% PC compatibility. The new graphics standard, which had the [=PCjr=] had introduced, became widely known as "Tandy Graphics" and ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'', which utilized the new graphics and had been originally positioned as the [=PCjr's=] KillerApp, became the Tandy's KillerApp instead. The Tandy would finally make the PC successful in the home computer market, paving the way for the PC's dominance in the entire computer industry.

** The [=PCjr=], released in 1984, was [=IBM's=] attempt to capturing the home market, where the [=IBM=] PC had struggled due to the machine's low quality graphics and sound. It failed, due to bad marketing from IBM, and the machine's poor compatibility with existing PC hardware and software. Enter [=RadioShack=], who righted the wrongs of the [=PCjr=] with the Tandy 1000, a machine that featured the [=PCjr's=] improved graphics and sound while maintaining 100% PC compatibility. The new graphics standard, which had the [=PCjr=] had introduced, became widely known as "Tandy Graphics" and ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'', which utilized the new graphics and had been originally positioned as the [=PCjr's=] KillerApp, became the Tandy's KillerApp insead. The Tandy would finally make the PC successful in the home computer market, paving the way for the PC's dominance in the entire computer industry.

* UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer: This platform owes its existence as an open platform and widespread adoption to this trope. Originally, only IBM made the PC, but thanks to fact that the machine was largely built using off-the-shelf components, it was relatively easy for countless other manufacturers to clone it and build their own computers that were 100% compatible with PC hardware and software, eventually driving IBM out of the PC market entirely.

* Most [[UsefulNotes/{{Emulation}} emulators]] fall into this. While emulators that are poorly made and/or early in development can have issues running games, it's possible for a well-made emulator to not only flawlessly replicate but surpass the original console by adding graphical and/or performance enhancements to games. It's common now for fans to complain that the proprietary emulators created by video game companies for official rereleases of their games are not as good as their open-source, fanmade counterparts.

The counterpoint of SturgeonsLaw, that the 1% of everything that isn't shit is actually quite good, applies just as much to bootlegs as it does to legitimate products. A number of both bootlegged products and legally-permissible imitations are noted for their astonishing level of quality, to the point where it's easy to mistake said bootlegs for legitimate products. As for the legally allowed imitations, sometimes they can become a viable competitor to the product they were knocking off, and can even eclipse the original in popularity (most famously with Oreos, which started off as a knockoff of Hydrox cookies but have since become far more popular among consumers). Some examples of highly convincing bootlegs are as follows:

* ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} started as a ripoff of the ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' character Deathstroke. In his [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness early appearances]], he was more of a standard mercenary character, with his only notable quirk being that he [[MotorMouth talked a lot]]. However, when he was later retooled into the [[NoFourthWall Fourth-Wall Shattering]] [[AxCrazy nutcase]] we all know today, he soon eclipsed Deathstroke in popularity, eventually [[Film/Deadpool2016 getting his own film]].

* Many people dismissed {{VideoGame/Palworld}} as a ShallowParody of ''{{Franchise/Pokemon}}'' with some sarcastically calling it ''Pokémon Gun'', but almost ''nobody'' [[AndYouThoughtItWouldFail expected this game to be such a success]], selling over ''three million copies in forty hours'' and having over a '''''million''''' concurrent players.It's well-deserved, too; for an Early-Access Title, it's ''very'' highly polished and well-made, with far more content, animations and visual excellence than what ''Pokémon'' is ever capable of doing, at least to some. Many people as a result have even claimed that ''Palworld'' is superior to ''Pokémon'' at this point, citing this alongside many disgruntled fans as a reason for Creator/GameFreak to step up their A-game.

** The knockoff of the S.H.Figuarts PS4 Spider-Man has been well-received due to it having better articulation than the original, such as fully movable arms and a wider leg range, and the cheap price of the figure.

* ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} started as a ripoff of the ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' character Deathstroke. In his [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness early appearances]], he was more of a standard mercenary character, with his only notable quirk being that he [[MotorMouth talked a lot]]. However, when he was later retooled into the [[NoFourthWall Fourth-Wall Shattering]] [[AxCrazy nutcase]] we all know today, he soon eclipsed Deathstroke in popularity, eventually [[Film/{{Deadpool}} getting his own film]].
* ''ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage'' started off as a parody of the DarkerAndEdgier comics of the 1980s, most notably ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'', ''ComicBook/NewMutants'', and ''ComicBook/Ronin1983''. However, when the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 cartoon]] came out, the Ninja Turtles exploded into pop culture icons. For reference, it would take far longer for Daredevil to reach a level of media fame comparable to the Turtles, with [[Film/Daredevil2003 his 2003 movie not helping his popularity]] and only later becoming more critically acclaimed by wider audiences when he got [[Series/Daredevil2015 his own Netflix series]].

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' has some notable similarities to ''Manga/HunterXHunter,'' mostly due to Masashi Kishimoto being friends with Yoshihiro Togashi. However, ''Naruto'' ended up being the more popular work (particularly in [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff America]]) for a multitude of reasons. One was that ''Naruto'' didn't suffer from the same frequent ScheduleSlip that plagued ''Hunter x Hunter.'' Another was because the first ''Hunter x Hunter'' anime from 1999 didn't reach American shores until nine years later, which was at the height of ''Naruto'''s popularity by then. The third possible reason was that the 1999 anime was CutShort due to [[OvertookTheManga overtaking the manga]] rather quickly, and it didn't get a more proper adaptation until 2011. And while that adaptation saw a lot of praise towards the end of the 2010s, this was long after ''Naruto'' had already entrenched itself as [[Franchise/{{Naruto}} a large franchise]] with various animated adaptations and spin-offs, video games, novels, and even a sequel series in ''Anime/{{Boruto}}''.

%%* ''Film/IronMan'' technically beame this towards ''Film/XMen1'' (made by 20th Century Fox) and ''Film/SpiderMan1'' (made by Sony Pictures) sparked the Comic Book Movie Boom of the 2000s. Marvel made [[StartMyOwn their own]] [[Creator/MarvelStudios film studio]] in response, but Fox and Sony naturally refused to sell the film rights to the X-Men and Spider-Man back to them. Despite this, Marvel went forward and established the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, becoming a new success that not only far usurped the box office records set by the ''X-Men'' and ''Spider-Man'' movies, but fully cemented the Comic Book Movie as a new form of blockbuster and caused many film studios to attempt forming their own cinematic universes using any properties they had.

* Various knockoff ''ComicBook/{{SpiderMan}}'' action figures have been noticeably superior to the originals.

* The [=GamBoy=] [sic], also called the [[http://blog.12bit.club/?post=5 GB Boy Colour]] ([[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment "Game Boy ''Boy'' Colour"?]]), is an unauthorized replica of the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor noted for being a surprisingly accurate imitation of the original. Despite the speaker only using one audio channel (instead of doing a mono mix of both channels), the screen being slightly-stretched, and the IR port not being functional, the GB Boy Colour actually has a working backlight-- something the legitimate GBC lacked. As such, many still consider it a good budget method of playing Game Boy and Game Boy Color games on "original" hardware without having to jump through hoops to make the screen visible in dim lighting (discounting the Game Boy SP, which did have a frontlight on early models and a backlight on later ones).
* UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem bootlegs:

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