Can you tell which one’s a fake? Neither can I.
I bought an extra controller a few months back so Holly could play the Disney Princess game with me. It’s a downloable version of the pld PS2 game but it plays well on the pS3 and we have a hoot being mermaids etc.
I got the controller on Amazon and from the only place which had stock, a merchant called MediaNation. It was never as good as the original, not as sensitive and the vibration feature was a little noisy, but it sat there most of the time being unused and Holly didn’t care anyway.
I broke my original controller, really broke it, I steered way too hard at a corner and broke the casing at the left toggle. What the hell, I had another controller.
Playing with it for a while I knew it was all wrong, never mind that it wouldn’t hold a charge in the battery. I got on the ‘net and searched for info on fakes, now YouTube might be full of people saying stuff when they’ve got nothing to say and demonstrating things without talent, but it’s also a mine with nuggets of gold everywhere. I found a bloke in the US demonstrating why the controller I got from MediaNation was a fake by pointing out all the little exterior giveaways like the sticker, you can see the fake one on the right which has shifted on it’s rubbish glue in my hand while using it. Then he opened it up, as did I.
The internals are a joke, a real one is all soft silicone and superfine tape wiring where the fake is fibre board cheapness and bright blue battery. Believe me when I say you can feel the difference in your hand when playing. A PS3 controller is a clever thing, it’s subtle and sensitive, the fake feels more akin to playing pinball with mitts on.
I went straight to both Amazon and MediaNation. Amazon aren’t happy at all and want it sorted out, Amazon trade on reliability and honesty but they’re increasingly farming out to merchants and this is what’s going to happen when your sellers are picking up stock from the back of a van for cash.
MediaNation are going to be trouble, they offered me a reconditioned genuine controller at cost postage as a replacement. Imagine my reaction to that.
I’m happy with a fight to get what I want for this, full refund plus return postage for the fake, emails are free and I kinda enjoy this stuff, the bad guys need baiting.
I hate being caught out like this, I hate bootlegging in anyway, media or product, so I buy my stuff from reputable sources to keep myself right. Well, that was the plan going to Amazon, where does it leave us if Amazon becomes as much of a gamble as shopping on ebay?
We’ll see what happens.
It would seem Amazon is going that way now, we’ve got a client who sells stuff on amazon and has recently noticed fakes of his product being sold on there using his imagery and at a cheaper price.
I remember Ebay having a massive problem with fake North Face Gear a few years back so stopped buying gear from ebay and tried to use reputable dealers, It’s getting harder and harder to tell the good from the bad these days, especially with how easy it is to set up a (crappy) web store.
Not good at all, hope you get it sorted!!
Good to see you chasing it Pete – I’d be too lazy too.
I’m still on it. Media nation are hoping I’ll go away, which I won’t.
Amazon have this week to sort it them it’s the credit card people and legal advice.
Sorted.
Full refund and apology from Amazon.
But, MediaNation are still selling on Amazon, and looking at their feedback, still selling fakes.