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  1. Platforms
  2. Dreamcast System

These consoles are fake!

Features
By David Meikleham published 24 June 2009

A collection of gaming's coolest and crappiest mocked-up machines

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Over the next three pages you're going to find some of the best and worst fake consoles to ever grace the ‘nets. Some have been rendered quite professionally by respectable publications. Others look like they've been knocked up by some kid in his room using Photoshop. While the most dedicated have gone that extra mental mile and physically built crude contraptions in an effort to fool folk.


Above: We’re gutted the BS never saw the light of day. We had our pre-orders in and everything

Fake Xbox 360

Hmmmm, an interesting attempt. Even if it looks more like a Guilty Spark-style curiosity than cutting edge console. This was one of the earliest designs to be leaked out from mysterious sources before the console's official unveiling.

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Watch full video here:

Fake PS3



Alright, so its looks like a DAB radio and supports 'death in disc format' UMDs. Still, there's a certain sleekness about this PS3 mock-up we sort of like. It had a lot of us fooled, too. Well, at least until the story broke that one of our sister mags in the UK, PSM2, had mocked-up the images themselves.

Fake Xbox portable

We're not sure which mag published this design, but it was certainly brave. The worst D-pad ever complimented with an equally shitty looking stick?



Published by technology mag, T3, this ain't a bad attempt. It looks a little too much like a GPS for our liking, though. Maybe it can help Niko find a quiet spot to get away from all those heckling phone calls.

Just what every good portable console needs: a keyboard that's bigger than the actual screen. Fail.

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Talk about hitting every branch of the ugly tree. Twice. This is one hideous handheld. Unsurprisingly, it was apparently created by a fan. For shame shoddy Photoshop design.

Fake iGame

This was originally printed in EGM, as part of a prank for their April issue in 2006.

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David has worked for Future under many guises, including for GamesRadar+ and the Official Xbox Magazine. He is currently the Google Stories Editor for GamesRadar and PC Gamer, which sees him making daily video Stories content for both websites. David also regularly writes features, guides, and reviews for both brands too. 

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