Category Archives: General

General

Staying vigilant when buying online

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[This article was first published at www.jaxxie.me]

As promised in my previous post, I will be sharing how scammers make use of online marketplace platform to scam unknowing buyers. Most of the content below are derived from my experience in running GameTrader.SG and GadgetTrader.SG.

Rise of consumer-to-consumer trading platform

A few year back, Yahoo Auction was arguably the king of online trading platform in Singapore. Even Ebay was not a strong competition to Yahoo Auction at that time. Online classified such as 88db and GumTree were always there too but they never gained critical mass or become super popular. Yahoo Auction Singapore was then shut down in 2008 and the popularity of C2C marketplace declined.

Fast forward to today, there are now many platforms for people to buy and sell their stuff. Amongst them are general trading platforms such as Carousell, Qoo10 and the recent Trezo by SPH. There are also more dedicated ones like SgCarMart, GameTrader.SG and GadgetTrader.SG which cater to a specific genre of items.

Of course the most impressive platform is none other than Carousell which raised $6M late last year and have experienced tremendous growth in terms of user base.

Most sellers on these platform are genuine individuals. However, online scams are on the rise and the authorities have even created website to educate the public. You may think that you are an experienced online shopper and you will not fall for such scams. You maybe wrong.

Tell tale signs of a scammer

a) Price of goods is un-un-un-believably cheap

The most easy give-away of a scammer which most people tends to ignore is goods sold at ridiculously cheap price.

Cheap PS4

For example, you saw this ad online on a PS4 that cost only SGD400. A quick google will reveal that a typical PS4 would cost above $500. Furthermore the set is brand new! Sounds too good to be true? Yes it is too good to be true!

Typically the seller will only contact you via email or private message (if it is present in the trading platform) so as to hide his identity. He will ask you to transfer the money to a bank account and promise to deliver the goods to you.

After some time, you realised that the item did not reach you. So you contacted the seller again and he mentioned that the item is stuck at the custom and he would need you to transfer more money to him. And so you did. Soon after you realised that you have been conned, you tried to contact the seller again but there will be no more replies. A police report is your next best option.

How to avoid

To prevent yourself from getting scammed, always checked the market price of the item of interest before committing to any purchase. If the price is way lower than market price, exercise caution. Ask for a meet-up and before making the payment.

b) Seller uses only email to contact you and not via mobile number

The next tell tale sign of a scammer is his mode of contact. Typically, reputable sellers and shops are more than willing to contact you via mobile number since it is the fastest and simplest mode of contact. As such contact numbers are traceable by the police, scammers would prefer to use anonymised mode of contact such as email or any private messaging system on the platform.

If you asked for the contact number and the seller refused to share, it may be best to walk away from the deal.

c) Making payments via Paypal/Alipay or even bank account

Other methods includes payment via facilities such as Paypal and Alipay. A scammer will typically ask you to make top-up to their accounts as mode of payment. Unless you are very sure that the seller is reputable, refrain from doing that.

Transferring money to bank accounts are generally traceable. There have been a few cases where scammers asked buyers to transfer money to a bank account. Turns out that the bank account belongs to companies that have a prepaid wallet system. Some websites such as 65daigou allow their user to transfer money into their bank account as a form of top up for their digital wallet. The credits within the wallet can then be withdrawn by their user or used for purchases. An email is all it takes to create a user account on such sites. So do not think that bank transfer are fully traceable.

Transferring money to foreign banks may be even more difficult for the police to take action. So think twice before sending money overseas.

How to avoid

The best way to avoid such scam is to do cash-on-delivery. Pay in cash only upon seeing the goods. Meeting up the seller is recommended. If you really need to do bank account transfer, you can do a quick google of the bank account number that was passed to you. A private bank account should not appear on any websites.

d) User rating

This is a bit of a no brainer. Of course you would want to deal with someone with a good user rating on the platform. However, you should also be mindful that not all ratings may be genuine. There is nothing to stop a scammer from creating multiple accounts. Use the ratings as a guideline but not as a foolproof way of filtering out scammers.

User rating

Always stay vigilant

I know this article may sounds like a message from the police but I can assure you that I am not working in the police force. Coming from an operator of online marketplace platform, I feel really bad whenever I received emails from the users that they have been scammed on my platform. While we have messages to warn user of potential scammers, some time the system may fail to pick up such individuals. It will still be best for our users to understand how such scammers operate and avoid them.

As we get more accustomed to transacting online, we should always stay alert and be mindful that there will always be scammers out there in the wild. So the next time you buy anything online, check and double check the credential of the seller before you make the purchase.

Disclaimer: The writer operates both the GameTrader.SG and GadgetTrader.SG platform in Singapore.

General

Is the Latest Generation of Consoles Suffering from the Rise of Mobile Gaming? 

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We’ve heard about it for ages – have mobile games brought the death of the console?

 

Some rights reserved by Sergey Galyonkin
Early last year, there were talks about how mobile gaming had killed the console gaming industry, The PS3, for all its merits, died at the hands of Smartphones, and as gaming began to take a life of its own in the mobile industry, so too did the mobile industry start to become dependent on gaming.

It’s this relationship that has pushed many developers into acknowledging the fact that mobile gaming posed a threat to the already-established platforms of PC and console gaming. Everyone had such high hopes for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, thinking that this latest generation of consoles would revive the console market, and for a while, the future seemed bright, with the PS4 sells 4.2 million units in 2013.

This year, however, tells of a different story. Most experts predict that while video game spending is expected to rise by 10% this year, only $4 of every $10 spent on video games will come from console gaming. The thriving mobile industry is said to be the culprit, and if console manufacturers don’t start adapting to the threat of mobile gaming, they’re bound to be left in the dust.

Why exactly is the mobile gaming industry killing consoles? It’s all quite simple: as one veteran games developer told TechCrunch, “The PS4/XB1 is the first generation to have technology worse than what is already out there.” O2 explains that there had always been two areas where consoles had the upper hand over Smartphones and mobile gaming devices: graphics and power. The latest generation of Smartphones, however, has become much more advanced, to the point that they can run high-end games without lag thanks to 64-bit processors.

Some rights reserved by Axel Pfaender

Console-style games have also made their way onto Smartphones, and thanks to the limitless amount of accessories available, the gaming experience can be as close to console gaming as one would imagine. Smartphones can now be mirrored on widescreen TVs, and accessories like the Moga controller have also made console-like controls available to smartphone gamers.

There’s also the question of practicality. When the PS4/XB1 were released, they set gamers back by about $400 per console, and these consoles were hardly better for much else than playing games and watching videos. On the other hand, a good smartphone – which can do everything from play games, access social networking websites, take photos, read email, open and edit documents, send messages and make calls – will cost you no more than $200. As for the games themselves, the average PS4 game costs $60 brand new – a price unheard of in mobile gaming. Most mobile games cost nothing more than $0.99, and for the price of a PS4 game, a mobile gamer could download dozens of games, as well as get a head start with in-app purchases.

Let’s not forget that the mobile industry is also much friendlier to independent developers, and the cost of developing an app or mobile game is much cheaper than developing games for consoles – a process that could take years. This has led to literally over a million apps being born into the mobile markets, appealing to all niches. The casual aspect of mobile gaming also means that it’s much easier for players to launch and end their games. After all, all you’d really have to do is bring out your smartphone – no matter where you are – flick to the game you want to play, and start playing. To pause the game, all you’d have to do is lock your phone again. But as for console games, a player would have to go to where his console is installed, wait for the console to boot up, load a disc, and wait for the disc to be read. Ending the game would require properly shutting down your console, and in today’s fast-paced world, not everyone has time for that.

Do you think that consoles stand a chance against the mobile market, or have you been sucked into the Smartphone trend as well? Let us know in the comments below!

Game News, Game Tech news, General

Morrowind vs Skyrim : which is better?

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Today, Callie Payne, our entertainment expert at PricePanda, is going to compare for you the well loved games with their previous generations, to see if they live up to their name.

Every gamer, casual or extreme, knows the mix of excitement and trepidation that comes when a new game is added to a beloved series. Everyone, for instance, knows that Final Fantasy VII is the pinnacle of the RPG series, and that all else that came after was an almighty let down (only joking, kind of). Heated forum debates emerge in the weeks, and sometimes years, following a new release with each camp producing convincing arguments and opinions about the new game. Is there a way to objectively compare a new release, with its updated graphics and (presumably) larger budget with an older, less technologically advanced game? Or do some new games really “sell-out” by dumbing down and catering to the masses and its new popularity. If something is a huge cult hit, (see above FF7 example) can that experience legitimately be reproduced in an entirely new storyline, new characters, new world? Let’s take a look at one of the more controversial comparisons of classic versus modern gaming.

 

Argonian!

 

 

 

While both are hugely popular games, Skyrim enjoyed much more mainstream success, with core gamers standing resolutely by Morrowind, despite drastically aged graphics and an unfinished feel in certain aspects such as inner cities, and between locations. Graphics aside, players cite the better atmosphere, better writing and more freedom in the RPG world to create your own story line as reasons why Morrowind is better. However, undoubtedly, Skyrim is a better made game. The cities are vast, beautiful and detailed. The developers had more time and money, which is why the cities in Morrowind have that empty shell feel. Morrowind also suffers from a slow beginning, with initial restricted travelling speeds, and a complicated character class system, something that more casual game players do not have the patience for. Skyrim is a good example of a game series that has simplified game play in order to satisfy a larger appeal, the result being that quests can become quite dull and repetitive. The Elder Scrolls fans will still buy and enjoy the game, though they may find the game lacking in richness and immersiveness that the previous games created by offering more intricate side quests, deeper character involvement through better quality writing and a greater sense of challenge. As a solution to this conundrum, TES fans are remaking Morrowind in a Skyrim engine: it’s called Skywind.

If you haven’t heard of it, and you loved Skyrim and are craving for more but can’t face the dated graphics of the older Elder Scrolls game, then Skywind is the solution for you. You need both games to be able to play, as it truly is a merger of both of the worlds. The outdated graphics, especially in the mesh and texture areas have had a complete artistic overhaul and users will be able to take advantage of all the updates and improvements of the Skyrim system, while enjoying the detailed quests and characters of the Morrowind landscape.

 

The landscape is beautiful

 

PricePanda Verdict: Diehard fans testify that Morrowind is so good they rebuilt it in the superior Skyrim engine, resulting in Skywind being the winner! (Is that cheating? Why choose when you can combine!)

Want to get Skyrim? Check it out at GameTrader.SG

You can also check out our partner, PricePanda games section for price comparisons and expert reviews on games and consoles.

Finally, watch this video “Main Quest Comparison: Skyrim & Morrowind”