Warning: Your counterfeit PS3 controller may explode

Sony has warned gamers this week that counterfeit PlayStation 3 controllers are likely to explode or ignite when used.

The controllers, which are "identical in appearance to genuine PlayStation 3 wireless controllers," are becoming more popular, says the company.

While cheaper than the official PS3 controllers, Sony says the "quality, reliability, and safety of counterfeit products is uncertain."

It is unclear which counterfeit controllers Sony is directly talking about, or what company's are selling them, but the products may "ignite or explode, resulting in injury or damage to the user, your PlayStation 3, or other property."

Furthermore, the "SCEA does not support continued functionality of counterfeit or unlicensed controllers in system software updates and these devices may cease to function in the future because of system software updates."

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 24 Sep 2010 12:10

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21 comments

xyqo

lol i love Sony news hahahaha.
These guys are the biggest tools in the tech industry.

XXYYQQOO!!! Yeah WELCOME TO JAMROCK

24.9.2010 13:16 #1

biglo30

We all know that some counterfeits are lesser quality than the original controllers but I really haven't since any news of one of them exploding. Sony couldn't give a bettery reason of why this would happen or even a case were it has happened. They had exploding batteries before so they should know how to explain why.

24.9.2010 15:02 #2

scorpNZ

"While cheaper than the official PS3 controllers"

pretty much sums up sony's reason to spread bull

24.9.2010 15:52 #3

Tristan_2

Pardon my language but edited by ddp YOU SONY The only Third Party controller I have ever used is a Gamecube controller with Rapid Fire enabled AND NOT ONCE DID IT "EXPLODE" ITS NEWS LIKE THIS THAT edited by ddp PISSES ME OFF! Sony is using Fear mongering tactics to try to force others to buy their expensive edited by ddp...In the words of Tom the cat "Don't You Believe It" I gotta say Sony edited by ddp MOVE!.

24.9.2010 16:08 #4

kikzm33z

Originally posted by Tristan_2: Pardon my language but edited by ddp YOU SONY The only Third Party controller I have ever used is a Gamecube controller with Rapid Fire enabled AND NOT ONCE DID IT "EXPLODE" ITS NEWS LIKE THIS THAT edited by ddp PISSES ME OFF! Sony is using Fear mongering tactics to try to force others to buy their expensive edited by ddp...In the words of Tom the cat "Don't You Believe It" I gotta say Sony edited by ddp MOVE! Counterfeit is different from 3rd party.

Learn to read.

24.9.2010 17:39 #5

xyqo

Originally posted by kikzm33z: Originally posted by Tristan_2: Pardon my language but edited by ddp YOU SONY The only Third Party controller I have ever used is a Gamecube controller with Rapid Fire enabled AND NOT ONCE DID IT "EXPLODE" ITS NEWS LIKE THIS THAT edited by ddp PISSES ME OFF! Sony is using Fear mongering tactics to try to force others to buy their expensive edited by ddp...In the words of Tom the cat "Don't You Believe It" I gotta say Sony edited by ddp MOVE!. Counterfeit is different from 3rd party.

Learn to read. Yes but non the less tell people it could explode is a little extreme even for Sony. Do they have any documented cases of this happening?

24.9.2010 17:42 #6

kikzm33z

Originally posted by xyqo: Originally posted by kikzm33z: Originally posted by Tristan_2: Pardon my language but edited by ddp YOU SONY The only Third Party controller I have ever used is a Gamecube controller with Rapid Fire enabled AND NOT ONCE DID IT "EXPLODE" ITS NEWS LIKE THIS THAT edited by ddp PISSES ME OFF! Sony is using Fear mongering tactics to try to force others to buy their expensive edited by ddp...In the words of Tom the cat "Don't You Believe It" I gotta say Sony edited by ddp MOVE!. Counterfeit is different from 3rd party.

Learn to read. Yes but non the less tell people it could explode is a little extreme even for Sony. Do they have any documented cases of this happening? That's right - it's a bit too far claiming that they will explode but I found it unfair that Tristan was comparing a 3rd party item on his Gamecube when Sony are referring to counterfeit controllers which I believe are controllers labelled as a Dualshock 3 when in fact it's nothing official.

24.9.2010 17:46 #7

DXR88

Quote:SCEA does not support continued functionality of counterfeit or unlicensed controllers in system software updates and these devices may cease to function in the future because of system software updates.
This quote is what i'm more afraid of. this will affect 3rd party

24.9.2010 17:54 #8

nonoitall

Quote:Sony has warned gamers this week that counterfeit PlayStation 3 controllers are likely to explode or ignite when used.
Ah, but the question remains: Which one is more likely to explode - a counterfeit or the genuine article?

We all know Sony's track record on exploding equipment. :-D

24.9.2010 18:35 #9

Tristan_2

Sorry for my exploding post like that was rather childish of me I should of like those before fearing this could affect third party controllers. I did read but I did let my anger get the best of me, however like nonoitall and DXR88 pointed out within the article this could give Sony the excuse to block 3rd Party controllers and possibly even more 3rd Party content. Especially we need proof of Counterfeit controllers of exploding then Sony saying they do and then block their access...But that would beg to question how will Sony Block it, is what I and others are concerned of.

24.9.2010 20:11 #10

aldan

well i will join the bandwagon and call bullshit.these guys dont seem to be able to seperate fact from fiction on a good day.today was not a particularly good one.

24.9.2010 20:12 #11

Baccusboy

Hey Sony, why not lower the prices of your controllers so that counterfeiting isn't of interest to people? I live in South Korea (a country your movie offices pulled out of) where counterfeiting of DVD's is rife, despite lackluster face-saving gov't regulation (you can find them for sale on the street and in the subway). Wouldn't you know that you can purchase used and older new DVD's for as low as $1.75?

Thanks to pirating, we actually pay less. If it weren't around, you'd have us paying a lot more!

24.9.2010 21:37 #12

KillerBug

Originally posted by DXR88: Quote:SCEA does not support continued functionality of counterfeit or unlicensed controllers in system software updates and these devices may cease to function in the future because of system software updates.
This quote is what i'm more afraid of. this will affect 3rd party That is the problem here, and the whole point of this BS. Sony does not really think that 3rd party controllers are going to explode...that is insane; most 3rd party controllers are USB, and have nothing inside capable of exploding or burning. But that is where the issue is...they want to lock down the USB ports as much as possible to prevent future jailbreaks.

BTW...a true counterfeit PS3 controller identifies itself to the system as a PS3 controller, and thus will be ignored by this. Only USB controllers and controllers that honestly say that they are not from sony or logitech get blocked.

24.9.2010 23:22 #13

DXR88

Originally posted by Tristan_2: Sorry for my exploding post like that was rather childish of me I should of like those before fearing this could affect third party controllers. I did read but I did let my anger get the best of me, however like nonoitall and DXR88 pointed out within the article this could give Sony the excuse to block 3rd Party controllers and possibly even more 3rd Party content. Especially we need proof of Counterfeit controllers of exploding then Sony saying they do and then block their access...But that would beg to question how will Sony Block it, is what I and others are concerned of. every controller has a chip /w a code that identifies itself. its as easy as sony blacklisting any device that doesn't match there controller code.

25.9.2010 00:49 #14

elbald90

Originally posted by Baccusboy: Hey Sony, why not lower the prices of your controllers so that counterfeiting isn't of interest to people? I live in South Korea (a country your movie offices pulled out of) where counterfeiting of DVD's is rife, despite lackluster face-saving gov't regulation (you can find them for sale on the street and in the subway). Wouldn't you know that you can purchase used and older new DVD's for as low as $1.75?

Thanks to pirating, we actually pay less. If it weren't around, you'd have us paying a lot more! i totally agree falsely high prices just encourage us all to look at other means of acquiring what we want

25.9.2010 04:32 #15

KillerBug

Originally posted by DXR88: Originally posted by Tristan_2: Sorry for my exploding post like that was rather childish of me I should of like those before fearing this could affect third party controllers. I did read but I did let my anger get the best of me, however like nonoitall and DXR88 pointed out within the article this could give Sony the excuse to block 3rd Party controllers and possibly even more 3rd Party content. Especially we need proof of Counterfeit controllers of exploding then Sony saying they do and then block their access...But that would beg to question how will Sony Block it, is what I and others are concerned of. every controller has a chip /w a code that identifies itself. its as easy as sony blacklisting any device that doesn't match there controller code. I guess that means that all generic controllers will come from china from now on...given the fact that china is the only country where you can get away with making a controller that identifies itself as a sony product.

25.9.2010 04:40 #16

davidike

looks like sony may have just blocked you from using anything but their overpriced propertarian devices.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2010/...lossy-audio.ars

Quote:Sony has a problem with unauthorized, third-party controllers. You see, they could explode. They are very dangerous things. The latest update for the PlayStation 3 adds support for 3D Blu-ray playback, but it also removes support for these contraband devices. There is a slight problem with this, however, as gamers are upset that many devices no longer work with their hardware.

The affected hardware? Adaptors allowing PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 controllers to work on the hardware, as well as some devices that connect via USB. There are two possibilities here: Sony no longer wants these devices to work properly, or this is a bug that will be fixed with (sigh) future updates. lube up for sony..

one reply on their forum reads:

Quote:I"m not even a gamer but I read ARS enough to ask "Does Sony hate its users?" From my admittedly casual observations it seems like Sony does everything it can to alienate its user base.

"The public domain is a dicgrace to the forces of evil"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJn_jC4FNDo

25.9.2010 05:57 #17

Schmick

Originally posted by nonoitall: Quote:Sony has warned gamers this week that counterfeit PlayStation 3 controllers are likely to explode or ignite when used.
Ah, but the question remains: Which one is more likely to explode - a counterfeit or the genuine article?

We all know Sony's track record on exploding equipment. :-D http://news.softpedia.com/news/Sony-Expl...les-37848.shtml

For anyone that isn't aware. When Sony claims that using non-genuine equipment presents an explosion RISK, you should probably also consider that genuine Sony stuff has a PROVEN history of exploding.

^ PEBKAC ^

25.9.2010 07:40 #18

Tristan_2

Quote:For anyone that isn't aware. When Sony claims that using non-genuine equipment presents an explosion RISK, you should probably also consider that genuine Sony stuff has a PROVEN history of exploding.
I actually just remembered that, that is so very true

Quote:looks like sony may have just blocked you from using anything but their overpriced propertarian devices.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2010/...lossy-audio.ars Ok seriously-_- was Sony reading this article? this is kinda too quick.

26.9.2010 02:25 #19

ZippyDSM

lol wut? Mabye if you didn't play with the firmware so much you will stop bricking things...

Until lobbying is a hanging offense I choose anarchy!
Ah modern gaming its like modern film only the watering down of fiction and characters is replaced with shallow and watered down mechanics, gimmicks and shiny-er "people".
http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com/

26.9.2010 14:47 #20

leglessoz

I can understand Sony being concerned about counterfeit controllers that are being sold as Sony products which is fair enough. However I think it is using this term to describe all non-Sony controllers which is just bull. Maybe the batteries in a wireless device can explode but for the most part I think Sony is just looking for an excuse to lock out non-Sony peripherals.

Anyone think Sony is interested in anyone's safety? If it were, it wouldn't make a product that could give one RSI. It's more likely Sony is protecting the bottom line - profit.

4.10.2010 05:44 #21

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