Scammers Counterfeit Game Discs for 30-Year-Old Console; PS1 Collectors Must Beware
Scammers started counterfeiting games for the PS1 console. Users warn against buying them and suggest looking carefully at the media, as it may turn out that instead of the original you will buy a fake.
Modder Voultar warns on X against counterfeit games for the first-gen PlayStation consoles. He claims that the fraudsters have learned to craft them so that at first glance they do not differ in appearance from the originals. Collectors hunting for unique titles that can fetch thousands of dollars at auctions must therefore be very careful not to lose money.
Counterfeit PS1 games
When Sony introduced the first generation of the PlayStation console to the market several decades ago, it used an unusual solution to make it difficult for pirates to counterfeit games. The discs were black, which made cloning them in such a way that they did not differ from the originals very difficult.
This method has been functioning for many years, however, it turns out that pirates have managed to crack it and are able to offer counterfeit games to unsuspecting customers, which at first glance look just like originals. The appearance of such titles on AliExpress is reported by modder Voultar, who warns collectors to pay more attention to what they buy.
On stores such as AliExpress, there has been a sharp increase in the number of PS1 counterfeits. They are pressed onto dark discs, which makes them visually difficult to distinguish from the originals. These counterfeits are already in circulation and it can completely disrupt the second-hand market. If you're buying PS1 title, be careful with everything you see, as it might be a 1:1 duplicate.
Collectors can lose a lot of money
Considering that the prices of PS1 games in original packaging reach staggering amounts at auctions, counterfeits can indeed be a threat. There is a risk that a collector looking for rare titles will buy such a pirated copy, thus losing a lot of money.
However, X users believe that Voultar is panicking, because in their opinion, even in the case of black discs, gamers can relatively easily recognize fakes if they know what to look for. Besides, a modified console is needed to run them anyway. One of the fans even posted photos comparing the original and counterfeit disc, claiming that they are not as similar as the modder suggests. In his opinion, even the box in which they are sold is different from the original and it's easy to distinguish.
However, the modder argues that not everyone has the knowledge to recognize a counterfeit game. He also believes that since rare PS1 titles command very high prices, some people may see counterfeits as an opportunity to make an easy and hefty profit. Of course, there is no problem if the buyer is aware that they are purchasing a counterfeit, especially when the original is already unattainable. The problem, however, will arise when he believes that it is a game released by Sony and pays for it as much as a few thousand dollars.
Collectors should therefore exercise particular caution when purchasing rare games, as the risk of being cheated may now significantly increase.
