Rock Band range is a prime example. Take the Fender Bass: We proudly display a sticker on the packaging informing customers that the Strum Bar has been quality tested to 2.5 million cycles (That's 1.5 million more than official!)...If you still doubt the quality, how about this: Mad Catz will be the ONLY SHOW IN TOWN making the OFFICIAL Cymbal Packs for the Rock Band 2 Drum Kit, no one else will be making them, just us! With a product and a range this important, do you think Harmonix would let us go ahead if they had any doubts at all on the quality?

His words make sense, and at the risk of mistaking passion for a strong work ethic, I believe he is completely sincere. The fact is that between the new Rock Band peripherals and the Street Fighter IV sticks we posted earlier today, things could very well be looking up for the company...but that's really not for me to say. The letter that follows, which Alex suggested I print in full, isn't so much to me as it is to you guys.

Hi Mike,

I don't believe we've ever spoken before.

My name is Alex Verrey and I am the Global PR & Comms Manager for Mad Catz. I've been in the job now for around 9 months and came on board from JOYTECH after Mad Catz aquired us last year.

I read with interest your piece on our Fender shipping:

http://kotaku.com/5046651/mad-catz-ships-fender-rock-band-bass#c7658588

First of all, thanks for the story, much appreciated. The Fender Bass like all our Rock Band range is a product we are deeply passionate about.

On a personal note however, it was a shame to read you say that you would "Normally never purchase a Mad Catz product". I guess I can understand your thought process however. We're not naive to what many gamers seem to think of Mad Catz products and I know from my years at JOYTECH that third party products are often thought of as cheap knock offs and not great quality.

Thing is Mike, a lot has changed in recent years. Mad Catz have repositioned ourselves as makers of high quality peripherals and most of our products now come with a 5 year warrenty.

In fact, the Rock Band range is a prime example. Take the Fender Bass: We proudly display a sticker on the packaging informing customers that the Strum Bar has been quality tested to 2.5 million cycles (That's 1.5 million more than official!). All the products are of course licensed by Harmonix and fender. If you still doubt the quality, how about this: Mad Catz will be the ONLY SHOW IN TOWN making the OFFICIAL Cymbal Packs for the Rock Band 2 Drum Kit, no one else will be making them, just us! With a product and a range this important, do you think Harmonix would let us go ahead if they had any doubts at all on the quality?

I know you may find this all hard to believe but I've always felt that the best way to change a persons mind on the product is to make good product and let them see for themselves. No PR bull, no more talk, just play and see for youself. All I ask is that you give us a chance to prove how much we've grown as a company.

To that end, I suggest the following. Please feel free to print this email on your site, we have nothing to hide. If anyone has an issue with the products or questions to ask, feel free to email me at: averrey@madcatz.com , we're listening and here to help.

So what's your take? Were you moved? Do you believe, or will you run out and pick up the sweet-ass SFIV arcade controller and then returned to your regularly scheduled hating? It's all on you guys.

I crave this like I have craved no other plastic musical instrument before, to the point where I'm completely bypassing my own built-in safeguards against buying Mad Catz products and actively considering making the purchase. Scary, I know!

Mad Catz Ships the First-Ever Rock Band™ Bass Guitar
Fender Precision Bass Guitar Kicks Off a Full Line of New Rock Band Products

SAN DIEGO—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. (AMEX/TSX: MCZ), a leading third-party interactive entertainment accessory provider, announced today that it has begun shipping its Fender™ Precision Bass guitar for the Xbox 360™, the initial offering under its license with Harmonix and MTV Games to produce and distribute game peripherals and other products for the critically acclaimed Rock Band™ game.

“We are excited to be providing an opportunity for the millions of Rock Band fans to enhance their game-playing experience with our Fender Precision Bass guitar,” commented Darren Richardson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mad Catz. “This is the first in a series of Rock Band products we expect to release this fall, each of which we believe will add to the realism and enjoyment of this immensely popular game.”

This premium bass guitar provides gamers with a licensed, authentic Fender Precision Bass guitar to complete their ensemble. Compatible with both Rock Band and the upcoming Rock Band 2 games, the Fender Precision Bass can be used to play both lead and bass guitar portions of a selected track. Incorporating all the features of the standard guitar, including Solo Keys, Whammy, and Overdrive Mode, the Fender Precision Bass comes equipped with innovative features designed to enhance the Rock Band experience.

The unique Split Strum Bar allows gamers to strum and pluck notes faster and with more precision, vital for fast tempo tracks. The genuine Fender Precision Bass does not have a whammy bar. To respect the accuracy of the bass, Mad Catz has engineered whammy compatibility by discreetly incorporating it into the volume knob of the bass, providing gamers with essential functionality when playing both lead or bass guitar portions of the track while preserving the timeless authenticity of the original design.

Published by MTV Games and developed by MTV Network’s Harmonix Music Systems, Rock Band is a leading platform for music fans and gamers to interact with music, challenging users to master the lead/bass guitar, drums and vocals as solo artists or cooperatively as part of their own band. Built on deals with the world’s biggest record labels and music publishers, the music featured in Rock Band spans all genres of rock and includes many master recordings from the greatest songs and artists of all time. Rock Band is currently available for the Xbox 360, Wii™, PlayStation® 3 and PlayStation® 2 consoles in North America and for the Xbox 360 in Europe. Rock Band 2 will make its debut on Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft this September and have an exclusive launch window in North America. Rock Band 2 will be available for the PLAYSTATION® 3 and PlayStation® 2 computer entertainment systems and Wii™ later this year.

As you can see, I wasn't making up the mushroom head thing. In case you were wondering why you would need a shark-shaped light gun for your Wii, the answer is right there, plain as day.

"With lively appearance and smooth lines, shark gun makes you feel comfortable, and give you a strong sense of shark-like invincible force."

Pega Shark Light Gun for Wii [DealExtreme - Thanks Andy!]

"Female gamers have an incredibly high set of standards when it comes to quality as well as design," said Bob Costlow, director of sales, WOLFKING. "You can't just paint something pink and say it's for girls. The Girl Gamer products give women access to fully functioning, hardcore gaming devices, but with an aesthetic touch."

And that's it. They added pink. This makes it for girls.

I was going to go into a lengthy tirade about the differences between girl gamers and guy gamers basically coming down to genitalia and sometimes facial hair, neither of which currently affect your ability to play a video game, but every time I talk about women and men, someone takes it the wrong way and I end up getting lambasted for being some kind of chauvinist. Instead, here's a picture of a pony. His name is Lucky. Incidentally, don't Google Image Search the phrase "lucky pony" without your adult filters firmly in place.

(Update): WOLFKING sent me pictures of the items, seen above. As you can tell it is a more subtle pink. Not sure if that's better or worse.

WOLFKING Creates Line of Custom Designed Gaming Devices

Girl Gamer WARRIOR and TROOPER with Flamingo Pink Accents Available Exclusively Through Dell

(Englewood, NJ) - November 20, 2007 - WolfKing, a world leader in the innovation and creation of gaming input devices, today announced it is customizing its award-winning WARRIOR gaming pad and TROOPER gaming mouse to appeal to female PC gamers. The specially designed gaming devices, which will be sold exclusively through Dell, provide the same high level of quality that consumers have come to expect from WOLFKING.

The Girl Gamer WARRIOR (MSRP: $34.99) features the same 54-key circular layout and USB 2.0 plug-and-play capability as the original WARRIOR, but now features a Flamingo Pink accent gradient on top of a full stealth black matte finish, with polished deep black audio keys. It offers all the functionality of the WARRIOR, but with a feminine touch.

The Girl Gamer Gear TROOPER (MSRP: $39.99) also features the Flamingo Pink accent over a 6.4 megapixels-per-second laser mouse with a dpi range of 800-2200. The sense of style doesn't compromise the high-end gaming mouse functionality gamers expect from the TROOPER.

"Female gamers have an incredibly high set of standards when it comes to quality as well as design," said Bob Costlow, director of sales, WOLFKING. "You can't just paint something pink and say it's for girls. The Girl Gamer products give women access to fully functioning, hardcore gaming devices, but with an aesthetic touch."

Eric Winkler, Saitek's founder, commented: "Joining Saitek with Mad Catz is a truly complementary step that leverages the strengths of each side, gives the combined business a new scale, and strengthens the relationships with both suppliers and customers. I am proud of what the Saitek team has achieved in its 28 years and I thank all those who made it possible.

Mad Catz Acquires Saitek™, a Leading Worldwide PC Games Peripheral Provider, for $30 Million

Strategic Diversification Complements Mad Catz' Leadership in Console Game Peripherals and Further Expands International Footprint

SAN DIEGO—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. (AMEX/TSX: MCZ), a leading third-party interactive entertainment accessory provider, announced today that consistent with its strategy to further diversify its products and geographic distribution capabilities, it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100 percent of the shares of the private holding company that owns Saitek's worldwide operations. Saitek is a leading worldwide provider of PC games accessories, PC input devices, multimedia audio products, chess and intelligent games. In particular, Saitek enjoys a leadership position in flight simulation controllers and has established a strong position in keyboards for PC games. In its latest fiscal year ended February 28, 2007, Saitek generated over $43 million of net sales and its gross margins exceeded those generated by Mad Catz in its latest twelve months. Mad Catz expects the acquisition to be accretive to its fiscal 2008 earnings and cash flow.

Under the terms of the agreement, the $30 million purchase consideration is subject to working capital adjustment and is comprised of $15.5 million in cash from Mad Catz' cash on hand and borrowings under the Company's existing credit facility, as well as the issuance to the seller by Mad Catz of $14.5 million of convertible notes. The notes bear interest at a rate of 7.5% payable at maturity and are convertible at the seller's option into common shares of Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. at $1.42 per share. The conversion price represents a 15% premium to the average closing share price of MCZ shares over the last 15 trading days. $4.5 million of the notes mature in two years and $10 million of the notes mature in three years.

Saitek's product lines include PC games accessories, PC input devices, multimedia audio products, chess and intelligent games. In addition to representing a strategically complementary product line to Mad Catz' broad range of console videogame offerings, Saitek's comprehensive range of PC peripherals allows Mad Catz to further strengthen its retail distribution network, particularly in Europe, where Saitek generates more than fifty percent of its revenues. Saitek's 120 employees in product development, sales and marketing, distribution and finance/administration are expected to join Mad Catz. Saitek has offices in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, United Sates, Hong Kong and the Peoples Republic of China.

Commenting on the transaction, Darren Richardson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mad Catz, said, "PC games peripherals is a category closely adjacent to our core console business and we are thrilled to be adding one of the world's leading providers to the Mad Catz family. Saitek significantly enhances Mad Catz' position as one of the world's leading games peripherals companies and provides us an entrée into the businesses of PC mice, keyboards and speakers and electronic chess and intelligent games.

Saitek has world-class product development and sales teams, one of the best brands among consumers in the industry and a diversified portfolio of highly-successful products. Its outstanding vendor operations personnel in China and administrative personnel throughout the company will not only help us grow Saitek's PC businesses, but will also support Mad Catz' continuing growth initiatives on a global basis."

Eric Winkler, Saitek's founder, commented: "Joining Saitek with Mad Catz is a truly complementary step that leverages the strengths of each side, gives the combined business a new scale, and strengthens the relationships with both suppliers and customers. I am proud of what the Saitek team has achieved in its 28 years and I thank all those who made it possible. We look forward with confidence to the success of the combined team in the years ahead, and wish them the best of good fortune."

Mr. Richardson added, "Although we expect to achieve operational efficiencies due to the scale of the combined entity, we believe that the upside is inherent in the future growth potential and not on a cost cutting basis. We intend to identify opportunities to apply Saitek's brands, intellectual property, products and skills in the console market as well as identify opportunities to apply Mad Catz' brands, intellectual property, products and skills in the PC market.

Just two months after our acquisition of the assets of Joytech, joining forces with Saitek is another example of how we are executing on our strategic plan to grow our business accretively, with the mission of increasing shareholder value by leveraging our core competencies in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing and distribution of interactive entertainment accessories and products."

Europe to Get Zapping Before Christmas [Next Gen]