The folks at Mad Catz are very much aware of the fact that gamers view their company's product and third party accessories in general as cheap, low quality knock offs. I myself haven't been too keen on their products for quite some time, a fact that I mentioned in my story about the Mad Catz Fender Bass for Rock Band. Well Mad Catz's Global PR & Comms Manager Alex Verrey dropped me a line yesterday with a message for all of us: Mad Catz has come a long way - just give us a chance to prove it. Using Rock Band as an example, Alex hammers home his point.
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-ca… 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.