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Slim shot: Suspect PS3 redesign captured in Philippines

by James Ransom-Wiley { Jul 13th 2009 at 5:01PM }

Did you hear about the PS3 Slim that fell off the back of the assembly line in Taiwan? Well, actually, the box took the fall, and then the console worked its way free of its cardboard confines, limped out the backdoor unseen, swam a short 700 miles or so south to the Philippines, toweled off, enjoyed a few bottles of lambanog, and promptly passed out under the stall of a electronics vendor. Phew! Guess it was the peddler's lucky day, eh? Unfortunately, our salesman was unable to hustle this miraculous merchandise into the hands of a wary shopper; who did, however, walk away with a brilliantly befuddled cell phone video of the rarity (posted after the break).

Of course, there's an alternate version of the story, too, as an alleged translation of the vendor's pitch puts it: "You won't see this [PS3 Slim] elsewhere because it's still new -- we just got it in. It's not yet available in other countries." The end.

We asked Sony to take a look, and according to a representative, it was the first time she'd seen the video, and then, predictably, she issued the standard company line: "We don't comment on rumor and speculation." So, it's your call. But let us at least advise you against booking a ticket to the Philippines and heading straight for the black market. For anything.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

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The DS Life: Four Swordswomen

by Eric Caoili { Oct 15th 2008 at 11:59PM }

With Halloween on the way, it seemed like a good time to feature some cosplay in The DS Life! As you can likely guess, the most popular costumed gamers we've posted about so far were the cosplaying Link duo (see gallery below), who took their inspiration from The Legend of Zelda's Four Swords spin-off.

We've picked out another group who've dressed themselves up as the colorful Link clones, and while they might not seem as "sensual" as the blondes we featured before, we think they better capture Four Swords' bouyant, playful feel.

Gallery: Cosplaying Link Duo

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Pirates cut costs on Wii-labeled GC games with compilation discs, crappier covers

by Eric Caoili { Aug 8th 2007 at 3:50PM }

Our undercover brother from another mother, GameOPS, has continued its documentation of video game piracy in the Philippines with more packaging photos taken at a Manila mall. The island nation's counterfeiters aren't content with just purposely mislabeling GameCube titles; they're taking a page from their handheld capers, packing multiple titles into one disc and selling them as unofficial Wii anthologies.

The 4-in-1 Zelda "Collector's Edition" pictured above contains the following GC/Wii releases - Four Swords Adventures, The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Ocarina Time [sic] -- all for only 400 pesos (approximately $8.75). Further insulting the series, the offending shop also sells a Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Riders 2-in-1 pack for the same price, suggesting equal worth. That is some straight-up malarkey. Jump past the post break for more examples of this duplicitous practice.

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Pirates selling GameCube titles as Wii games

by Eric Caoili { Aug 6th 2007 at 1:30PM }

The last time we visited the Philippines, we stopped at a video store and picked up a movie labeled Anaconda 4, amazed to find that the horrible horror film had received three sequels which we'd never heard about. Imagine our surprise when we popped in the VHS tape later that evening, only to find that Anaconda 4 was actually Komodo, a completely unrelated B-movie with absolutely no anacondas in it whatsoever. It's a good thing we passed on Breakfast Club 3.

Filipino site GameOPS found that pirates are up to their old tricks again, copying GameCube games onto DVD discs and packaging them as Wii releases. Titles like Luigi's Mansion, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition are advertised with new covers that've been rebranded with Wii logos and boxart elements. Unlike official GameCube-to-Wii ports, these don't even feature tacked-on waggle controls!

When asked about the "Wii" copy of Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes on display at ShopesVille, a department store in Manila's Greenhills Shopping Center, one of the salesladies explained that it's the same Metal Gear Solid release as the upcoming PS3 game. We bet that all the people who argued about the Wii not being able to handle next-gen graphics feel a bit silly now! Check past the break for a couple more photos of the counterfeit case jackets.

See also: Pirates rule the Philippine seas

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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.

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Pirates rule the Philippine seas

by Eric Caoili { May 14th 2007 at 8:00PM }

After a tour of the country last year, Indian President Abdul Kalam described the Philippines as a "smiling republic." Wherever he went, Kalam was met with smiling faces. Well, you'd be grinning too if you saw how cheap their games are. Thanks to the black market, popular Nintendo Wii titles are priced as low as $5 in some shops. Piracy has become so widespread in the Southeast Asian country, even Sony admits that most of its Playstation software sold in the Philippines are bootlegged copies.

Filipino site GameOPS found that many stores also offer modchip installations. For about $51, you can have your system hacked to play these counterfeit games at the local mall or market. Furthermore, some shops advertise console bundles, selling imported and modded US Wiis with five copied games of your choice for around $450. Similar deals for chipped Xbox 360 systems with 10 pirated titles are actually cheaper at $388.

With such a high level of piracy already in place, Nintendo will have a lot to work against when -- or if -- it decides to finally launch the Wii in the Philippines.