Mad Catz readies Xbox 360 Live Arcade Stick for holiday release
By Darren Murph 
posted Nov 20th 2006 7:12AM
posted Nov 20th 2006 7:12AM
Manufacturing hiccups, or intentional delays to ensure a holiday release? Whatever the reasons behind Mad Catz taking its sweet time on the Live Arcade Stick -- which we were (fairly) certain was eventually coming -- remains unknown, but at least it's (almost) here. According to our pals at Joystiq, the retro-styled controller slated to help Xbox Live Arcade gamers feel a bit more like 1985 is just a month or so away from hitting store shelves. Aside from sporting all the familiar Xbox 360 buttons and rumble functionality, purchasers will also get Frogger, Time Pilot, and Astropop when they throw down their $49.99, and if you're into multi-purpose gizmos, you'll certainly appreciate its ability to play nice with PCs. So if you had every intention of delving into Nintendo's classic library of games today, but couldn't scrounge up an actual Wii for yourself, Mad Catz will hopefully deliver that dash of yesteryear before too long.
Harrold. You sound like an advertising robot. Go away and play with your overly expensive PS3.
Buying it but i did wish they had a $40 version with all free arcade game since i own all them.
is it wireless?
Doesn't sound like it, the Kotaku page says
"and it can connect through USB to a PC"
if guitar hero is coming sans wireless controller, i would be pissed if this 3rd party crap (in comparison, mind you) cleared with wireless.
while it looks to be a good effort, i think ms should pull an, well, ms by making their own arcade stick. i mean, look at the wheel. that has a much smaller demographic. and plus ms could make a (debatibly, i'm sure) high-quality stick with wireless. and the necessary face buttons to boot.
plus, while very intriguing for warlords, the paddle-esque control doesn't look like it'll pan out as expected.
Am I the only one that thinks that looks awkward and uncomfortable to use?
@ Deluxe.
no. it does look very awkward.
I think microsoft should put out a wireless table standing joystick with faux wood, old school arcade cabinet finish.
so what about using it for halo? would aiming be more precise or less?
It's most likely wired since Xbox 360 doesn't allow for 3rd party wireless due to closed proprietary wireless and not open standards like bluetooth.
Makes me wonder if anyone makes a 3rd party wiimote. if that's possible.
I'm completely unfamiliar with the wired controllers so excuse my ignorance, but the arcade stick does have the Xbox logo in the middle with the player 1,2,3 or 4 indicator. I thought this was only on the wireless controllers so you could tell which player you are. If it's also on the wired controllers than I guess my point makes no sense, but to me, that could mean it it wireless.
no the guide button and lights are on all of them b/c the usb ports are not assigned for a specific controller number. it simply provides a faux-wireless connection, if you will.
unless you are a hard core arcade style gamer, this would probably slow you down.. but hey.. you could give it to your friend you are playing w/ so you could always win. Not that i do that kinda stuff...
I've been wanting one, but $50 seems really steep for a wired controller--and I definitely have the same concerns about how awkward they are... seems like a really small base for having the stick off-center. I do wish there was an option to not include games--or allow you to trade in games you've already bought on xbox live.