Friday, May 31, 2013

Bootleg Wii U Pro Controllers that Will Fool You!

I've never seen a bootleg with such balls!

I recently bought a black Wii U Pro controller off of amazon.com from one of the sub-sellers. The controller was selling for around $35. I thought this was simply someone reselling the controllers from a previous $30ish sale that Best Buy had. From the moment I took it out of the box and put it in my hand, I knew something wasn't feeling right. Something was different. I thought it was just me.
Similar to how GameCube controller bootlegs that are available today, the buttons on this "Pro controller" were very TIGHT. At first I thought it was an update to the controller that Nintendo made.... until I played Call of Duty. I noticed right away that there was a problem.... the control sticks weren't working right.
The left stick wasn't working at a certain angle, and the right stick wasn't working when you clicked it in!

At this point it was clear that there was definitely a problem.... I went to BEST BUY to buy a REAL black controller, and compared the two, and sure enough, when looked at both up close, we definitely have a problem with the one I bought off of amazon.......

Can you spot the differences?

Above, the legit controller is the top one. From the front view, you can see the A,B,Y,X button and the D-Pad color difference between the two. The shine one the bootleg one (above/bottom) looks a little bit cheaper then the legit one (above/top). And if you look closely, the bootleg is even slightly shaped different!

At the time when I opened the bootleg black controller, I had already owned a White Pro controller. I knew something felt and looked a little different when I put this amazon bought controller in my hand. Since the controller was a different color, I thought maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me, and that the color was throwing me off on the different feel. But as I said, I immediately noticed the difference between the tightness of the buttons and sticks. I did feel a slight difference in shape, but again, thought the different color had my eyes playing tricks on me.

 Looking at the boxes, you would never know!
Can you tell which box is the fake?
(Legit box on left, bootleg on right)

Above, the fake box is on the right in both pics. The bootleg does have SLIGHTLY less shine to the box, but the difference is so minimal, it was be almost impossible to tell unless you have a reference box to put right next to it! 

Can you tell the difference from this view? They BOTH have the Nintendo logo!
(legit on top, bootleg on bottom)

We've went over some maybe not so obvious differences, at first glance, but now lets take a closer look at some pretty clear differences!

Here, the bootleg (on the right) clearly has higher sticks! (too bad they don't work right!)
 Below, on the charging cables, we can see the lack of the Nintendo logo on the bootleg wires! And slightly different design!

These are not OFFICIALLY confirmed as fakes, and both even have the Nintendo logo on the back of the controllers! But it is obvious that these are not official Nintendo products. They don't work correctly, and there are clear differences. I've never seen a bootleg with such balls to have the box match, and to actually have a Nintendo logo on the controller. Is this a new breed of bootleg? Either way.....

The lesson learned here is that when it comes to controllers, we obviously need them to work right. So even if the controllers look legit, and the internet even shows a candid photo of the product instead of a generic jpeg, its better to just pay full price or wait for a sale at an official store that is legit like Best Buy, or Gamestop.

Could this be simply a factory defect? Well, considering that I ordered it from a sub seller on amazon, for a MUCH cheaper price, some parts didn't work, and some Nintendo logos are missing.... I would say "I don't think so Tim" to this being officially made!

- Joey JcM

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35 comments:

  1. Have you tired returning the controller to the seller?

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    1. I actually DID contact the seller, but there's even more to the story then what was written here! Lets just say I have a white "Pro controller" from this guy as well, that I haven't even opened yet....

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    2. You should report this seller. Regardless of his approval rating. People out there won't know the difference between an official and a bootleg controller.

      And the sad part is, they will blame the console (Wii U) for having lousy controllers. When in reality, its the bootleg controller what is the problem, not the console.

      Once the word gets around about these fake controllers, people will be more pro-active when looking to buy one. Just like you were when you decided to buy it at Best Buy.

      You should also consider writing a review of the bootleg controller at amazon. As a way to warn others.

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  2. The seller that sell the bootleg wii U was disgusting and dishonest. What a scum of human! Jeez!

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    1. Yes. Like I was just saying, these bootlegs look so authentic to the untrained eye, that the average person prob WILL be fooled by them. With official Nintendo logos on the box and everything, people could start to think Nintendo is making low quality stuff. What is bad for Nintendo makes me mad!

      Delete
  3. Just wanted to add that I was buying Wii Motionplus controllers on eBay last year and a good deal of the controllers on there were fakes. I took a ton of pictures if you are interested in seeing them. They are just as official looking as these, but the overall quality is slightly lower than the real deal and they don't work right or at all. The boxes are repros as well. It was upsetting because the average person would have no idea these are fake and just assume that Nintendo was making a poor quality product.

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    1. Pretty much exactly what happened here. Bootlegs are getting out of hand. And like I said, even if they advertised a candid pic of this bootleg, you would never know it's a bootleg until you got it in your hands. And even if they let you return it, you gotta go through all the hassle of sending it back... You can send the pics of your Wii remote to my official e-mail JoeyJcM5@aol.com , I would love to see them!

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  4. can you compare it with the white one? I bought one white controller but there's some mix details in this comparison and i'm worried, please!

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    1. Gabriel, without having both side by side in your hands, it's very hard to tell. These bootlegs EVEN HAVE THE NINTENDO LOGO on the back of them! BUT, one SURE flaw is that the bootleg charging cable DOES NOT have the Nintendo logo on it! When the real ones DO HAVE the N logo on the USB side of the charging cable.

      Delete
    2. Thank you very much, mine does have the N logo on the usb charging cable! Now i feel relieved!

      Delete
  5. Unfortunately, the guy that I bought the bootleg from had a very good rating also, thats why I thought I was able to trust this purchase. I guess you learn more about the world everyday though.

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  6. Did you contact Nintendo? You should tell them about the fakes and where you bought them. You should also contact amazon (though if your local amazon is the same as our local amazon, they will probably not care).

    And of course get your money back.

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    Replies
    1. I tweeted Nintendo so far, haven't got a chance to call them about it yet. Hopefully word gets to them soon. These fakes are too good not to fool the average person. They're so authentic looking to the untrained eye, that people could start to think that Nintendo makes low quality stuff. If it's bad for Nintendo, it makes me mad. And I took care of my situation.

      Delete
  7. Bought white controller from ebay seller Mariio128
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/221181718601

    It hasn't arrived yet. I asked the seller about Nintendo logo on charge cable, he keeps silence, emailed him already 3 times.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I checked out the link, it says "New and sealed" so if thats the case, the seller won't be able to know about the cable. If he opens it to check, it obviously won't be new then... Looks like the only thing you can do it wait and see when you receive it. Considering SO MANY $30 Wii U Pro controllers are popping up on amazon and eBay, I don't think it's a coincidence. Guys got a good rating, but so did the guy I bought mine from.

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    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    3. I can't find in Europe white pro controller in shops .
      I want to buy from ebay seller Mariio128
      You received the controller, it's fake ?

      Delete
  8. Another thing to be noted that a lot of the times the buttons and dpad are glossly while they're matte on the real thing.

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  9. I purchased a white Pro controller from ebay
    the name of the seller is "wowtara"
    it is a bootleg. In the back of the controller "Niniendo" is written instead of Nintendo and the usb cable is black without anything written on it
    I asked from the seller a refund for a return
    no reply yet

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    Replies
    1. SCUM! I'm not surprised! I really wanna know how they're getting away with making these. Did it come in the official looking package like I have in the pics above?

      Delete
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  12. Is the screw on the legit one black or is it just the angle?

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    1. I actually just took my official white and official black and looked at the back of both of them. The official black DOES in fact have a more greyish screw to blend in better with the black finish, and the official white has a regular silver screw. And comparing bootleg to the real one, the real one has a more mushroom top shaped phillips head screw, and the bootleg has a very flat top shaped phillips head!

      Delete
  13. Hey dude, I think I may have purchased one. It's a white one, and the back of the controller says,"Niniendo" instead of "Nintendo" unless it says that for your authentic one.

    Tell me if it does, I bought it from eBay. And I want retribution.

    I really wished I saw this earlier.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Ok I deleted my last comment to correct myself. I actually found video footage of comparing two white ones, an official and bootleg Pro controller. My white bootleg ACTUALLY says "Nintendo" on it, and so did my black one (even though you can't make it on in the pictures). I would have duly noted if the controllers had said this. But "constantinos man" also commented above about the "Niniendo" thing. It seems either you guys got SUPER bootlegs, or the same company started to at least take out the Nintendo name on the controller. Either way, if you're seeing "Niniendo" instead of "Nintendo", I think you know what i'm about to say...

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  16. I also just purchased a controller from Ebay. It says "Niniendo" on the back and nothing on the controller. I'm quite sure it's fake after reading this one. However, did you get your fake controllers to work at all?

    I managed to get the controller connected and synced to the Wii U, but as soon as it syncs, the Wii U just turns of itself. Did you have this problem?

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    1. It seems that the "Niniendo" controllers are different versions. Mine ACTUALLY said "Nintendo" on it! I'm thinking they stopped being so ballsy and stopped putting using the Nintendo logo and started with the "Niniendo" stuff, unless those are other guys trying to do the same thing! But the controller I had DID connect. It worked, but certain angles on the sticks didn't respond right, and the right stick click in button hardly worked. Also the main buttons were VERY hard to press, very tight!

      Delete
  17. Just got a Wii U Pro Controller from an eBay seller. First hint there was anything wrong was the power button not working. However, everything else seems to work ok. Looking at the pictures of real controllers, I think mine is either an improved fake or the real thing. There are still some issues though. I don't have a Nintendo USB cable. The bottom of the box only says "Wii U Pro Controller", but all other aspects of the box look legit (even the Nintendo seals). I don't think the gloss finish on the controller is as glossy as it should be, but I'm not seeing as many differences as you have here. I'm putting that down to it being six months on and the fakes getting better, but I might be wrong and I just got a faulty legit controller.

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    1. If it didn't come with a USB cable with the Nintendo logo on it, I would saw your right about it being an improved fake. It's not uncommon for people who do this to change tactics after not too long, to cover their tracks. Hope it's not giving you too much trouble and is actually useable if you can't do a refund or something.

      Delete
  18. Sadly, even the controllers at gamestop are fake

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