Toys "ARRRR" Us: Piracy in the Philippines
by Eric Caoili 
{ Jun 24th 2007 at 12:00PM }
Pirated video games in the Philippines is certainly nothing new -- we remember seeing counterfeit Famicom carts being sold there back in the day -- but its ubiquity in the Southeast Asian country is startling. GameOPS' John Phillips Bengero sent us some pictures to illustrate just how dire the DS and GBA bootlegging situation is. Far from being confined to Manila's seedier markets, these shots were taken at a recently opened Toys "R" Us branch in TriNoma mall! Bring a pocket full of pesos past the post break for the photos.
Only one of these four games is worth owning!
A ten in one bundle?!
Exchange rate: $1.00 US Dollars = P46.72 Philippine Peso.
Wonderful! Dogz and Crazy Frog!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
berg @ Jun 24th 2007 12:35PM
OMG, i have just been there like four days ago. yeah i saw those games. found some original copies that sell for Php2000 (about $40) and a lot of pirated games that sell for half the price. the thing is the DS lites they were selling won't be able to play those games anyway (the units should be "upgraded" first to play bootleg games). but i saw some stores that sell upgraded DS lites that play pirated games. :) welcome to the philippines, folks.
RupeeClock @ Jun 24th 2007 1:28PM
Haha, gotta love that "Tetris DX" for the GBASP 135 in 1, lol.
ardzeii @ Jun 24th 2007 1:31PM
Quite ironic that Joystiq's freshest news (as of this writing) is this: http://www.wireless.joystiq.com/2007/06/24/ds-games-at-toys-r-us-are-buy-2-get-1-free-this-week/ :|
Sad to say, piracy here in the Philippines is going stronger and stronger, even with all the warnings and the raids going on. A very unfortunate place to do software and multimedia-related businesses, IMHO. :(
cozm @ Jun 24th 2007 5:16PM
haha this is basically true to most south east asian nation like malaysia, indonesia, viet etc
nothing much u can do about it especially if there aren't any official distributor around (they are scared of competing with the pirates RAWRR..)
Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Jun 24th 2007 5:24PM
Ironically, I have bought myself R4 (== M3) specifically for the purpose of packing all games I play often on single card.
Was dreaming of that since first weeks of owning DS - having favorite games with me all the time. (Also, no decent DS case is sold here in Europe.)
Tetris + Picross + Meteos + Clubhouse on single card. What more could I possibly ask Nintendo for?.. Oops. Sorry. All thanks now go to the pirate guys. Domou!
Grey Acumen @ Jun 24th 2007 8:55PM
Cozm brings up the same point my GF brought up. Basically, there aren't any official distributors there, so they don't have any choice.
My GF brought up another point is that Filipino's are pretty status symbol oriented. despite the knockoffs and copies, iPods are apparently doing very well.
If the companies actually brought out their own systems earlier, they might stand a better chance in these regions.
Hardly foolproof, but something to think about.
Glenn @ Jun 24th 2007 9:03PM
filipino pride yahhh!!!!!!!!!1
but for reallss, my country has a lot of pirated stuff. suprising? no.
worthy of US headlines? deff not.
c'mon, please. it's not like you guys have never have seen bootleg stuff. and why don't you go over there, and get one of those games? we knoo you want to. :)
shaoron @ Jun 24th 2007 10:41PM
what the heck!?
i never expected this sort of spanish inquisition!
*looks around*
anyway.. yeah.. nothing new...
JACK SPARROW IS A FILIPINO! :p
(that doesn't sound right...)
Roystik @ Jun 25th 2007 12:18AM
It's "yarrrr" , not "arr"...some pirate you are.
Anyways, in the grand scheme of things, look to the Middle Kingdom for the source of all these pirate goodness.
yarrrr!
-----------------------------------------
Do what you want 'cause a pirate is free, you are a pirate!
Yar - har - fiddle-dee-dee, being a pirate is all right to be!
Do what you want 'cause a pirate is free, you are a pirate!
You are a pirate! (Yay!)
We got us a map (a map!) to lead us to a hidden box,
Thats all locked up with locks (with locks!) and buried deep away.
We'll dig up the box (the box!), we know it's full of precious booty
Burst open the locks, and then we'll say "HOORAY!"
Yar - har - fiddle-dee-dee,
If you love to sail the sea, you are a pirate!
WEIGH ANCHOR!
Yah - har - fiddle-dee-dee, being a pirate is all right to be!
Do what you want 'cause a pirate is free, you are a pirate!
Arr - yarr - ahoy and avast, dig in the dirt and you dig in it fast!
Hang the black flag at the end of the mast! You are a pirate!
HA HA HA (Yay!)
We're sailing away (set sail!), adventure waits on every shore!
We set sail and explore (ya-har!) and run and jump all day (Yay!)
We float on our boat (our boat!) until its time to drop the anchor,
Then hang up our coats (aye-aye!) until we sail again!
Yar - har - fiddle-dee-dee,
If you love to sail the sea you are a pirate!
LAND HO!
Yar - har - fiddle-dee-dee, being a pirate is alright with me!
Do what you want 'cause a pirate is free, you are a pirate!
Yar har wind at your back lads, wherever you go!
Blue sky above and blue ocean below, you are a pirate!
HA HA HA!
You are a pirate!
033054 @ Jun 25th 2007 4:12AM
i like the headline coverart, btw.
yeah, big department stores here sell pirated stuff, SM (the largest mall chain in the country) even sells Wii mod chips. :->
rob @ Jun 25th 2007 4:44AM
yeah a few years back I got my ps1 mod chipped in the philippines. afterwards whenever my relatives would go back and forth they'd bring me back a bunch of games (ps1 and pc) for about five bucks each.
the airports here and stuff are cracking down on it and if you are caught coming from the philippines or any asian country with bootlegs you're deported.
they government over there is cracking down on shops selling pirated games and whatnot with the raids. however they just pop right back up.
yanipheonu @ Jun 25th 2007 2:26PM
In the Phillipines, we are famous for 2 things...
Pirates and our Women.
I think I might be picking up some DS games in when I'm over there in December...
inggo @ Jun 25th 2007 10:48PM
it's weird that whenever some news about piracy goes out, most of the finger pointing goes out to the Philippines. I think it's a FACT that most pirated things comes from China (and some are even from Indonesia).
but still, the biggest problem about piracy in the Philippines is how OPENLY they SELL these pirated things in big stores like SM and Robinson's. The government on the other hand turns a blind eye on these big stores and target only the smaller ones. >_>
gingmaganda @ Aug 15th 2007 8:39PM
was surprised to see these stuff, first i thought they weren't pirated because why in the world were they being sold in "reputable" stores such as an international chainstore of Toys R Us? eeeee! this is embarrassing!