Nintendo offers plenty of Wii U accessories, including the Wii U pro controller. While the regular pro controller retails at $50, some of them have been spotted for as low as $30. Turns out, those are counterfeit ones, and they’ve been sold on Amazon.
Amazon, the largest online retailer in the world, has several sub-sellers that use its site as their shop. And some of those sellers aren’t as trustworthy as you might think. One Wii U owner purchased a Wii U Pro controller on Amazon and found out that there was something “off” about it. The controller wasn’t working properly either, with the analog sticks malfunctioning. Then he purchased a Pro controller at Best Buy, and found out there was a huge difference between the two.
While the real and fake controllers look similar, he reports that the buttons on the fake one are too “tight” and that its buttons and build quality isn’t as good — which comes as no surprise. But it’s hard to spot the fake controller, as on the surface, it looks like the real deal, and even comes in a box that’s nearly identical to the genuine Nintendo controller.
A simple way to make sure you have the real Wii U pro controller, is to buy it from authorized sellers, such as game stores, Best Buy, and other retailers. Also, the real controller costs $50, while the knock-off costs around $30. However, Amazon needs to crack down on these sorts of products and sellers on its site, as many gamers buy the controllers thinking they’re genuine, since they’re bought on Amazon and not some shady-looking site.
Check out the gallery of the real and fake controllers below. Can you spot the fake one?
