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Discerning bootleg PS3 controllers from official ones


zeociko

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Let me start off by saying I'm a bit of a collector, even to the extent of extremely limited consoles color SKU's (like the Gold Toys R US Exclusive N64 which fetches over $1500-$2000 on Ebay now or Yakuza 3/RGG White Dragon PS3).

 

So last year I was doing my daily travels of Ebay and after losing the only factory sealed Gold N64 controller auction that was probably ever there, it reminded me to check if Sony came out with any golden edition PS3 controllers.

 

I discovered a lot of obvious fakes...

http://www.abload.de/thumb/448891326_oeec8.jpghttp://www.abload.de/thumb/448891298_oyidf.jpg

Notice no Sony logo on controller and PS button is white, not black. On all the DS3's the PS button is black, except the official Ceramic White and Satin Silver

All of the above are/were coming out of either China (Hong Kong, a bootleg capital of the world) or Australia. Odd.

 

But I kept digging deeper and found some possible real ones, which were limited in amount unlike the obvious fakes, and a lot more expensive. In a few of the auctions the seller was claiming they were from a Playstation Network contest/giveaway in Korea, and in the description said he called Sony and they "confirmed" that. If you wanted to know for sure, he said to also call them. Suspicious.

Here are the apparent "real ones". I bought 3.

 

Note the genuine packaging. They arrived and I can confirm they are the same packaging and wordings as official NA and JP "post PS3 redesign" designs. But there is one difference. The "DUALSHOCK 3" text on the packaging is purple instead of blue. Strange.

 

Now let's inspect one of them and compare to an official North American Red DualShock 3 controller.

Let's begin by looking at the front of both of them side-by-side.

http://www.abload.de/img/imag0470lir8.jpg

 

But if you look closely (you may not be able to tell in the picture), the START/SELECT button font is slightly different. The Gold font is slightly wider, while the real Red one's font is bolder and not as vertically narrow.

http://www.abload.de/img/imag0482copyoioy.jpg

 

With this small difference and the buttons feeling genuine (except for the sticks which feel a LOT more stiff) compared to the real one, it could still be real. But let's look in closer detail to the back labels. Besides the label, notice the worn off gold on the bottom-left of the picture. As for the labels, notice on the gold it says Sony ComputerEnter tainment Inc.. Both has MADE IN CHINA. FCC and IDA are probably country specific though. The other key difference is the model number. Googling the Red's CECHZC2U signifies that it's Sony's universal model # for all DualShock3 controllers. Now let's Google the gold's CECHZC2H. First result is this claiming it's a fake bootleg: Gameyeeeah.com and PS3 controller model # CECHZC2H - FAKE! - RedFlagDeals.com Forums and it is indeed not a Sony SKU. Yes I know that was simple, but this is one of the closest fakes I've ever had my hands on besides that. Also [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mji_PLB7Tb0]YouTube - How to spot a fake ps3 controller (white)[/ame] for older fake explanation detailing syncing issues among other things.

http://www.abload.de/img/imag04751gn2.jpg

Note: yes it was me who posted this on NeoGAF, I'm not pasting other's work

 

Here's another video of a fake White:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYmhxT8lWLo]YouTube - Fake DualShock 3[/ame]

 

I also just noticed that the face buttons are slightly different on the bootleg gold, they colors of them are slightly more washed old and they are more bold.

 

What I'm going to do now is something I've done in the past with DS3's...combine 2 colors together to form a dual-color controller. I'm going to take out the bootleg innards/buttons of the gold and replace with real ones. I currently have a black on white and white on black.

What should I do next? Gold with red, white or black? I will take pics.

edit: The innards of the real ones don't fit inside the bootleg controllers, so now they are all useless after taking them apart. Anyone who has taken DS3's apart knows putting them back together is a pain. I modded a white and black DS3 to have both combined into one, and one had issues with rumble and the other had issues with the buttons not pressing in the right way.

 

And one note guys...never use super glue on controllers. You know about the Gioteck "RealTriggers" attachment for PS3 controllers? Well I was sick of them slipping off when the controller fell on the ground. One fall and the edge of them chip off, making it impossible to keep on.

So I tried supergluing them to the Red one. And well, I let it sit face down, and the glue dripped into the R2/L2 crevices and they don't push down anymore. Also down onto the front of the controller. At least I have spare DS3's and I'm going to combine the gold case with either a black/white bottom case with the genuine/buttons Sony parts inside. edit: Like I said before, the bootleg parts don't fit inside with the real ones.

 

Today I ruined my official red DS3 with superglue mishap, 2 mixed white+black upper/bottom case mod of official DS's, and 2 of the bootleg gold's. All I have left now is an unopened Ceramic White Japanese DS3 and Japanese black DS3 (not mentioning fightpads/arcade sticks). :(

Edited by zeociko
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Thanks, I will try to add any more info I can. But if anyone has any question on this or any pictures to request, I can take them. The list of mods-gone-wrong mishaps currently are gutted white, red, black DS3's and 1 gutted gold and 1 superglue mishap'd gold.

Yeah, I actually have a friend who bought a red fake one, when I looked at it and compared it to the real one it was very obvious.

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Kinda wish the gold one wasn't a fake it looks pretty cool.

 

Yeah, I would be using the gold as my main controller, but the buttons and sticks are fake parts. Sticks are very stiff and artificial feeling and I didn't even turn it on to see if there were the known syncing issues and even rumble issues, etc.

 

So I tried to mod...take out the innards/buttons/sticks of an official White DS3, and put them into the bootleg gold casing. Big problem...the real + bootleg casing and innards don't mix since they are in one word, different. Also tried putting just the gold back onto the front of a white and it still doesn't fit.

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Ive seen a few in person. I buy and sell my games on craigslist all the time and ive had more than a few chinaman try and sell them to me. There also showing up at flea markets and discount stores. I also own 1. It feels and reacts the same as a Playstation original. But after a few months i notice how easy they broke after i would give it a toss across my floor in anger. Ive smashed a few controllers in my time and the fake ones break a lot faster with a softer blow than the real ones. Sounds funny but im a controller smasher gamer. The asking price ive seen has been $25 to $20 sealed on craigslist and $25 new sealed in the discount stores. Plus %12 tax

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Yeah, always be weary of any accessory via Ebay or Craigslist (both are not licensed dealers so it is fair game for bootlegs), especially if the seller is based in China/Hong Kong, where these fakes are produced. Also like I said in the first post, there is some kind of connection to Australia as well, a lot of these sellers are using AUS currency for their auctions despite being based in China once you look at the fine print.

 

Always go to legit online stores such as Amazon (which are licensed SCE retailers to boot) for things like controllers. I know that special colors such as gold is really cool, but there are no official released colors such as that on the market nor through previous promotion. The best way to get a cool color is to get a custom modded official controller through a site like ColorWare.

 

I actually need to look into a gray DS3 mod...so it looks just like an original PS1 controller. I miss the gray days of PS1/N64/SNES/NES!

Edited by zeociko
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You're better of buying a standard real one and modify it yourself these days :( (Modify, as in colors, not the cheap rapid stuff etc etc)

 

Yeah, but it's just really tricky replacing and combining the front/bottom cases of the PS3 controllers. One little thing wrong and buttons or triggers will not press in correctly, the rumble will be off, something will be wrong with the sticks, etc.

Like I said before I've ruined about 4 controllers trying to "mod" them, mainly when trying to combine real and bootleg casings though.

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I brought one an unofficial one from Hong Kong last October as I needed a second hand controller to get the platinum in the SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection plus when I had a friend come over, it was always handy.

 

Also the cable it came with was crap and didn't charge up at all and when it did the battery kept resetting itself, so now when I have friends come over I unplug the cable from my hand controller into the unofficial one just to ensue it works.

 

Still £8.99 I can't really grumble.

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i dont care if that golds fake it looks real enuf anyway and if she does the job who cares :)

 

The problem is... An official controller is about €50 which (should) last you a life time. Crappy fakes are about €10-20 and most of them crap out on ya pretty fast.

Also, some USB devices don't work with the PS3, so a fake might not even work at all.. etc

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