![The Life & Death of Mad Catz [LGR Tech Tales]](https://i3.ytimg.com/vi/NGJrUWWvDWs/maxresdefault.jpg)
The Life & Death of Mad Catz [LGR Tech Tales]
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Date: 2022-04-14
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Comments and reviews: 10
Monty
I have a friend whose father worked at Mad Catz until a few months before it fell apart, when they began laying off employees. That friend also worked as an artist intern at the company for a while. Thanks to them I got a couple of fightsticks for free or at employee price, plus some extra products including even a few prototypes- namely a Resident Evil 5 messenger bag that's in a different color from the ones actually released, and some Street Fighter x Sanrio iPhone 4 cases (they only actually put out iPhone 5 versions I believe. So I have some personal attachment to the company, and it was sad to see them die off. I mean, you say you could get comparable versions of their best stuff, but not entirely. The TE2/TE2+ fightstick is, in my opinion, the best of the commercially released sticks. It used the same Sanwa parts, while being designed around being easy to open and customize. You could even swap in custom artwork (Mine has art of Zangief drawn by the same friend mentioned earlier. And it has a generally better case design than the basic metal boxes of other sticks like those by Razer, which I've never liked. And on the business side of that, they had a pretty big FGC name in Markman working as their community liaison and helping design their sticks. That part of their business was set up to succeed, and was doing really well. Had they just focused on that, and perhaps branched out into other higher end niche peripherals, rather than going all-in on Rock Band, the original company might still be around.
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I have a friend whose father worked at Mad Catz until a few months before it fell apart, when they began laying off employees. That friend also worked as an artist intern at the company for a while. Thanks to them I got a couple of fightsticks for free or at employee price, plus some extra products including even a few prototypes- namely a Resident Evil 5 messenger bag that's in a different color from the ones actually released, and some Street Fighter x Sanrio iPhone 4 cases (they only actually put out iPhone 5 versions I believe. So I have some personal attachment to the company, and it was sad to see them die off. I mean, you say you could get comparable versions of their best stuff, but not entirely. The TE2/TE2+ fightstick is, in my opinion, the best of the commercially released sticks. It used the same Sanwa parts, while being designed around being easy to open and customize. You could even swap in custom artwork (Mine has art of Zangief drawn by the same friend mentioned earlier. And it has a generally better case design than the basic metal boxes of other sticks like those by Razer, which I've never liked. And on the business side of that, they had a pretty big FGC name in Markman working as their community liaison and helping design their sticks. That part of their business was set up to succeed, and was doing really well. Had they just focused on that, and perhaps branched out into other higher end niche peripherals, rather than going all-in on Rock Band, the original company might still be around.
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Rowan
The RAT AIR isn't too great! Plastic and cheap. I thought it was going to be the pinnacle of MAD CATZ gaming mice. The mouse 4 & 5 will last you about 1. 5 to 2 years. Mouse 4 Broke around Year and a half into using it and I'm feeling my mouse 5 starting to loosen and soon to fall off. Just recently loosened at year 2 with it. Not as hardy as the earlier models. Cheaper, lighter, and not as ergonomic. -
I also get upwards stutter from the mouse. Always had that issue. -
RAT 9 was the perfect design along with RAT 8. I honestly recommend a different gaming mouse. -
MAD CATZ. Fix your mice. Bring back the RAT 9 Design. Bring back a better gaming mouse. I will not buy from you again, otherwise.
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The RAT AIR isn't too great! Plastic and cheap. I thought it was going to be the pinnacle of MAD CATZ gaming mice. The mouse 4 & 5 will last you about 1. 5 to 2 years. Mouse 4 Broke around Year and a half into using it and I'm feeling my mouse 5 starting to loosen and soon to fall off. Just recently loosened at year 2 with it. Not as hardy as the earlier models. Cheaper, lighter, and not as ergonomic. -
I also get upwards stutter from the mouse. Always had that issue. -
RAT 9 was the perfect design along with RAT 8. I honestly recommend a different gaming mouse. -
MAD CATZ. Fix your mice. Bring back the RAT 9 Design. Bring back a better gaming mouse. I will not buy from you again, otherwise.
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Macintrasher
I only ever had one Mad Catz product, and that was a Playstation memory card that came with the PS1 I bought off eBay. That card was a piece of garbage. After about 3 corrupted saves, I tossed that thing in the trash and swore off of anything from that company forever. They were the definition of 'you get what you pay for', cheap throw-away garbage. Of the people I knew who had Mad Catz stuff, every single one of their products died no matter what it was, the vast majority being controllers.
Trash company that made trash products.
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I only ever had one Mad Catz product, and that was a Playstation memory card that came with the PS1 I bought off eBay. That card was a piece of garbage. After about 3 corrupted saves, I tossed that thing in the trash and swore off of anything from that company forever. They were the definition of 'you get what you pay for', cheap throw-away garbage. Of the people I knew who had Mad Catz stuff, every single one of their products died no matter what it was, the vast majority being controllers.
Trash company that made trash products.
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fanjoy
I going to think that they just tried to expand too fast, especially towards the end with all the contracts with developers to provide the hardware and help market the product. I'm guessing the marketing probably is what really did it for them. They probably should have just stuck to making hardware for the developers so they could both sell the product as a complete kit (software and hardware) and thus leave the advertising up to the software developer/company.
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I going to think that they just tried to expand too fast, especially towards the end with all the contracts with developers to provide the hardware and help market the product. I'm guessing the marketing probably is what really did it for them. They probably should have just stuck to making hardware for the developers so they could both sell the product as a complete kit (software and hardware) and thus leave the advertising up to the software developer/company.
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YouTubeUser1981
I finally watched the whole playlist, and really enjoyed the presentations and history. Good job! I'm surprised you didn't make an episode about Intel. While they certainly aren't a defunct company, they do have a long history and are one of the critical foundations of the modern PC as we know it. Perhaps you have covered Intel I just haven't found the video yet.
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I finally watched the whole playlist, and really enjoyed the presentations and history. Good job! I'm surprised you didn't make an episode about Intel. While they certainly aren't a defunct company, they do have a long history and are one of the critical foundations of the modern PC as we know it. Perhaps you have covered Intel I just haven't found the video yet.
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William
The only reason why I remember Mad Catz is because I have a GameCube memory card from them that I've had for a little over 15 years. It doesn't have my original save data for a lot of my games anymore, but the fact that I still have my childhood memory card from them speaks volumes to me. When I heard they were going out of business, I was sad.
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The only reason why I remember Mad Catz is because I have a GameCube memory card from them that I've had for a little over 15 years. It doesn't have my original save data for a lot of my games anymore, but the fact that I still have my childhood memory card from them speaks volumes to me. When I heard they were going out of business, I was sad.
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DarKnightKilla13
Honestly, I still have my working GameBoy Color magnifier from them. I might even have an extra working GameCube controller from them. My family couldn't often afford the original stuff growing up, but for what it's worth I always took care of what I had and they all still worked just fine, original or MadCatz.
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Honestly, I still have my working GameBoy Color magnifier from them. I might even have an extra working GameCube controller from them. My family couldn't often afford the original stuff growing up, but for what it's worth I always took care of what I had and they all still worked just fine, original or MadCatz.
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daleva187goligo
I have a mad catz ps2 controller, I always thought it was cool, see through blue, and that logo was cool, I always wondered what kind of company they were, but it was always in passing if i had a few moments to look down during playing. well now I know and don't have to wonder anymore, thanks lgr
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I have a mad catz ps2 controller, I always thought it was cool, see through blue, and that logo was cool, I always wondered what kind of company they were, but it was always in passing if i had a few moments to look down during playing. well now I know and don't have to wonder anymore, thanks lgr
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Human
I used a clear green xbox oem controller that came with my matching green combat evolved xbox console, both still work today. But I also remember getting a clear green mad catz controller with a macro button on it, I still have it but it has some wear especially in the triggers and A/B buttons
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I used a clear green xbox oem controller that came with my matching green combat evolved xbox console, both still work today. But I also remember getting a clear green mad catz controller with a macro button on it, I still have it but it has some wear especially in the triggers and A/B buttons
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Johnny
Some of their controllers were literally garbage. I had to get one and in an fps I thought I just sucked total booty but then I found out the controller had some sort of input lag and it would take a second to catch my movement and then take a second to catch that I stopped movement. Lame
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Some of their controllers were literally garbage. I had to get one and in an fps I thought I just sucked total booty but then I found out the controller had some sort of input lag and it would take a second to catch my movement and then take a second to catch that I stopped movement. Lame
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