http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7766708.stm

Parents warned on fake consoles

Video of news article


What to look out for when buying a games console

Parents are being warned about fake imported Nintendo games consoles which could be a fire hazard and pose a danger to their children's safety.

HM Revenue & Customs said it had seized hundreds of counterfeit Nintendo DS and DS Lites, which were discovered to contain dangerous power adapters.

Nintendo confirmed it had not produced the potentially dangerous adaptors.

Several UK consumers had ordered the consoles after being attracted by the much cheaper price.

Many had been bought for £40 instead of the usual £100 retail price.

'Serious harm'


HOW TO CHECK VALIDITY
Nintendo DS


If a deal appears too good to be true, it generally is
Ensure product is wrapped in cellophane on receipt
Check it has paperwork and charger is in proper container
Check there is a guarantee
Check box for British Safety Standards mark
If unsure, contact Trading Standards
Buy from a reputable high-street name

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) warned UK customers to be "vigilant" when purchasing electronic goods from websites.

"Buy from a reputable or regulated site, and if purchasing from outside the UK or a new website research the site, check all the facts before you buy," said Pamela Rogers, HMRC's head of intellectual property rights.

Mike Rawlinson, managing director of the Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), said that when a deal looks too good to be true "it often is".

Speaking to the BBC, HMRC spokesperson Clare Merrills warned that faulty counterfeit consoles could be unsafe.

"You might find you plug it in and the adaptor sets on fire or the wires start to melt and stick out," she warned.

"When you buy these goods, you're not funding our economy, you're actually funding criminals in these far off places and it could be linked to terrorism," she added.

Consumers who have received fakes are advised to either contact the companies from which they bought the goods or contact their local Trading Standards office.

This post has been edited by andyz: Dec 7 2008, 09:33 AM

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7...100/7767188.stm

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Added on December 7, 2008, 7:17 pmhttp://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/videos-pictures/picture-gallerires/2008/12/05/gallery-how-to-spot-a-fake-nintendo-ds-72703-22413888/i5/


Hmm...i'm kinda confuse by what they meant by fake console...
I think they are talking about the power adapter...

This post has been edited by evilhomura89: Dec 7 2008, 07:24 PM

My DS's serial number does hav a barcode and the box is relatively smaller because no charger is included..does that make my DS fake??
Don't think so...

I think the fakes they are talking about is the power adapter that came with it...in Msia most of the DS come with a separate 3rd party adapter

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Added on December 7, 2008, 7:33 pmThe British custom better define fake properly...
Now here's a real fake console - vii (on the right in the pict)


This post has been edited by evilhomura89: Dec 7 2008, 07:33 PM

Looking at the model number, I think the "fake" is a US version DS Lite, and since the adaptors that comes with it doen't work in UK it's replaced by potentially dangerous 3rd party adaptor.

well...then it shouldn't be called fake anyway...

Wow, now even the console is being pirated after the games. What's next? Fake PSP?

Huh? No charger included? Mine do have the charger included in the box and it is exactly the same showed in the "Real power charger" picture. I thought all DS have a charger included inside the box, no?

Oh, after checked my unit now it seems like mine is genuine since it doesn't have bar code. But judging from the picture your console looked genuine as well, i mean judging from the plastic quality.

This post has been edited by LYNsucks: Dec 7 2008, 10:08 PM

Depending on which region of DS u hav...mine is a US region, therefore the original charger is not included since it won't be useful for me anyway...the shop owner replaced it with a compatible charger instead

Because mine was the olde olde DS with a Hong Kong Charger, the box was huge.
Persuaded the shopkeeper to give me a US charger too.



So the question, do these fake NDSLs play real NDS games? and go onto Wifi properly?

It's not fake NDSL to be exact...
It's the same thing produced by Nintendo...just dat different region comes with different packings
Those considered as fake NDSL by the British customs are most probably from other regions.

article is wrong, it ain't no fake, just a ds that is either
a) from a different region (probably some of playasia's stuff also kena labelled as fakes) or
b) reconditioned DS

like what you guys have mentioned, it is probably the cheapo power adapter that is the real issue.
someone, hopefully nintendo should tell UK customs that they f'ked up. Come on, a fake DS that plays DS games?

Errr wait, guys. What about the quote from the TS:

Do this supposedly mean the whole ds together with the 'fake' charger from other region only cost £40 in total? I dont think so. £60 is a huge difference.

The 'real' one shown in the picture is an UK unit, but US unit should have charger included in the box if I'm not mistaken. I've see some unpacking process on the youtube video and most of them r US one if I guess it right. They(the vid uploader) unpack the box, take out a ds, extra stylus, some manual and a charger. The difference is that the US charger has flipping pin instead of fixed pin as shown in the picture.

hmm...den most probably the box for US version is designed to be small...since the pin can be flipped n stored...

likely to be reconditioned units if those are really going at 40 pounds each. also, isn't the 'supposedly fake one' posted the nintendog's special edition?
like i mentioned earlier, who in their right mind will make a bootleg NDSL that for all intents and purposes functions 100% like the real thing?
if it does not, why the need to go to such lengths to 'identify' a fake, bukan susah sangat wor, put in ds cart, doesn't bootup, hangs = fake lor, no need to check serial number blah blah blah.
bbc needs some spanking.

agreed...

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Added on December 8, 2008, 12:51 pmnow here's a fake DS lite on the right


This post has been edited by evilhomura89: Dec 8 2008, 12:51 PM

^^ lol @ the fake ds lite, the screens are soooo small!
What's up with BBC/UK ppl.. why is the metallic rose nintendogs special edition being called 'fake'? Mine is the metallic rose.. it's the exact same color except mine doesn't have paw print cuz mine isn't the nintendogs edition

Fake console and regional different console is totally different meaning. Fake means it's not made by nintendo but console from different region have different packing... size, look, contents, etc

Mine is the hong kong version if I'm not mistaken -- mine comes with guide book, stylus, and charger... fake? No, just from different region.

I think they just meant counterfeit.. not fake... and also charger (as in those non-genuine cheap charger)

Off-topic: I love the US charger :\ They're smaller and can be flipped open/close lol

This post has been edited by tokyotenshi: Dec 10 2008, 06:07 AM

this fake wii everyone can notice on first sight

is it just me? Or the fake ds looks like a photoshop barcode ?

and.... ain't that paw ds lite a special version from the united State?

i guess what they wanna say here is that there are DS being imported in from other regions. what they warn is that they might be cheap because the original accessories like the battery and charger. or maybe because they have been put together from scrap parts....

havent we been dealing with this since the year 2000 already?

I was wondering what the deal was. cuz as i remember, ds games are still RSA encrypted, and while its been cracked, its still a feat to create a parallel architecture that would emulate the DS' game decryption on the fly.

My DS lite on the back, looks like the 'fake' DS back. Except that my serial number sticker is silver-ish and straighter. My charger comes separately and looks like the 'real' power charger minus the bulky-ness at the pins.

Btw, does R4 or others work on fake DS?

why censor your serial number?
i don't really understand what is the serial number for?
unless it's an id?

what is RSA encrypted?
i was wondering about that when i saw the "RSA secured" on my ds lite's back..