Early version Sega Saturn HSS-0101 controller

OK, I took a look at two of my fake Saturn pads and they both have little tabs on the shoulder buttons just like the "proto" or "fake" controller. But both of the fake pads feel just as good as the original Saturn pad as far as individual parts go apart from the shoulder buttons which are made of a cheaper plastic and slightly but ever so slightly formed a little worse. Once my fake pads are put back together they do feel cheaper than the official ones but only due to the "z" button on both pads being too low. The texturing seems to be the same. Another point about my fake pads is that they both have a different molding for the upper part of the case. There's no groove for the cable to sit in. There's only a groove in the bottom part of the case. The pad in question above has grooves in both the top and bottom of the case just like an official pad. My fake pads both use blob chips not real chips like the one in question.

Maybe the Saturn pad in this thread is a very early fake or maybe it is a real prototype. Who's to say Sega never thought about adding turbo buttons to the original design?

Are there any markings on the pad's casing or PCB that state where it was made? My fake pads were both made in Thailand.

 

There are no markings on the pcb that state where/when it was made.

 

Is it just me or are the XYZ buttons rounder over the top on the one on the right? And left are more flat-topped? Or are my eyes fooling me?

 

The one on the right (genuine) is slightly rounder.

 

This is a fake for sure, IMO. In the last picture, the SEGA logo and text is more round and less defined than the real version on the right. This is because the original was used to create a mold to manufacture the fake. This also explains the smoothness of the counterfeit as well.

Here's an similar example--on the left is a real SNES logo, on the right is the SNES logo from a counterfeit:

 

Yes I've also noticed this on fake Sega Saturn usb controllers (both SLS and non-SLS branded ones). The molded text and logos aren't as sharp as the original.