Hardware Nunchuck failure, counterfeit or bad luck?

[kokotas]

So I bought this nunchuck along with my wiimote plus about two months ago. I hadn't used it much until recently, when I started playing Zelda TP. After 30 hours or so of playing the game starting acting up. The cursor was getting stuck and drifting away on its own at the edge of the screen. After resynching the problem usually went away but recently it's been getting worse, until the wiimote stopped recognizing the nunchuck altogether.

Seeing how it only lasted for a few hours of gaming, it made me doubt its genuineness. So here are a few pictures:

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1st: Color difference between parts on the boxes.
2nd: Seal of approval on the nunchuck box bears a "registered symbol" ® next to nintendo logo
3rd: Maybe not visible in the photos, but the nunchuck picture on the box is blurry and not as well refined as the wiimote's.
4th: And what about the silocone used to insulate the wires? I haven't seen a picture of another nuchuck circuit board like this one.

(Don't mind the cut wires... I was trying to fix it, resoldering etc but I only got as far as making wiimote recognize the nunchuck again, controls were dead orz)

So what do you guys think? Am I being paranoid or it could really be a counterfeit?

 

[WiiCube_2013]

Where'd you buy this and how long is the warranty for? 3 months?

You're saying you've been using it for two months so you can still return it because it's faulty.

 

[kokotas]

From a store selling games, accessories etc Don't care about the warranty since the store is quite far from my house and I've most likely lost the receipt Anyway, I've already ordered a new one from another place. I'm just intrigued to know if this was a counterfeit or not.

 

[filfat]

warranty is by law in most cases 2 years, however some products have limited warranty to 1 year for legal reasons.

 

[59672]

The glued wires and different chip (and pcb/circuit) layouts lead me to believe it is a fake. Though who knows if nintendo cheaped out on them in some newer revision.

 

[migles]

heres some details which can help you decide if its counterfeit..

RLV-004 between cable and hole

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CE and trash icons or similar below the "glass" plastic (note, icons here are from an european nunchuck, i am not sure if they are universal)

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usually counterfeit mafia will not care about these details...

 

[kokotas]

Yup it was counterfeit, but carefully made one, at least on the exterior. Today I got my new one (probably refurbished) for 10 euros. Working smoothly

migles
Yup all these are there on the counterfeit. I was wondering myself, if they would go at such an extent as to add all those little details... That's why I thought I was being paranoid, until I disassembled it and saw the glued wires. Comparing it with the new genuine one I got, I noticed a few things.

The genuine one is a bit heavier.
The analog stick is harder to tilt (greater tension)
The holes on the back (where the screws go) have more refined and rounded edges, whereas in the counterfeit are rough.
The same goes for the edge lines beside the C button. On the genuine one, they are barely visible, very discreet compared to the fake where you notice the gap immediately.
The carvings are also better visible, and the transparent piece of plastic of the connector is more... well... transparent lol

So there you have it Thanks guys for your opinions. I will make sure to be more careful when shopping from that store in the future. Now I can happily go back to my TP.

 

[cearp]

good idea for opening it up, i had a ps3 controller i bought from ebay, it said it was genuine etc, it came and it looked 'perfect', the barcode on the pack scanned correctly (although... it was for a different color of controller, blue and not pink) - my first clue.
then, i noticed it made a high pitched noise when it vibrated - my second clue.
i opened the controller up and the soldering, pcb etc was TERRIBLE, it looked so cheap and was done so badly.
i messaged the guy on ebay and he said he had no idea, i believed him whatever, and i could have got my money back but i got busy and forgot to send it back

so yeah - open it up and comparing it to a real controller is the best way i think

 

[migles]

@kokota

thanks for letting me know, i thought counterfeit stuff didn't care about thoose little details...

btw i will just open this nunchuck and check about glue...


edit: nice, nintendo uses a pin connector instead of glue...

edit 2: nice, a ferrite bead connected to a wire on the cable, this is high quality stuff...

for curious people heres a picture:

Spoiler