Mad Catz signs on to make Rock Band instruments, accessories

While Activision and Harmonix bicker over the real reason there's still some lingering incompatibility between the two, Mad Catz has inked a multi-year licensing agreement with MTV Networks to "produce and distribute game peripherals and other products" for Rock Band. Reportedly, the third-party peripheral maker has secured the rights to "manufacture, market and sell game accessories, including both wired and wireless bass guitars, a drum percussion set bundled with professional quality wooden drum sticks, and a wired microphone." All in all, we're stoked to see another player entering the Rock Band hardware game, so here's to hoping Mad Catz won't ship out any faulty axes and frail drum pedals during "the first half of 2008."

[Falcon Punch @ Jan 4th 2008 12:37PM]

nothing say quality like MadCatz

[paragraph @ Jan 4th 2008 12:41PM]

Acctually, Mad Catz isn't all that bad if you're looking for Value... but that isn't much since Pelican/PDP sucks so hard now.

Hoepfully they will work with GH3

[Falcon Punch @ Jan 4th 2008 12:38PM]

nothing says quality like MadCatz

[sam @ Jan 4th 2008 1:09PM]

nothing says fail like double-posting

[Rae @ Jan 4th 2008 12:51PM]

i hope they make a gibson firebird bass controller

[paragraph @ Jan 4th 2008 12:58PM]

I'm going to assume they will either be Generic (probably looking like a Les Paul or Some Fender) or a Licenced Fender Guitar, since thats who has dibs on Rockband. But you never know ;)

[Rae @ Jan 4th 2008 1:04PM]

i hope they just do the whole generic thing because fender makes some pretty ugly guitars/basses

[David W. @ Jan 4th 2008 3:47PM]

beauty is in the eye of the beholder, personally I prefer the look of Fenders

[Tavis Veighey @ Jan 4th 2008 1:06PM]

I miss Interact! They had quality stuff! At least Datel is selling their CodeJunkies gear in the US now.

MadCatz is ok, and Pelican makes poor gear.

[HyperHacker @ Jan 4th 2008 3:30PM]

Interact...

quality...

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA oh god

[Flit @ Jan 4th 2008 1:31PM]

You know EA screwed up when it's a major announcement that MAD CATZ will be making peripherals. On my Third guitar and waiting for a bass pedal, I guess this is good news for when my warranty wears out?

[dj-kenpo @ Jan 4th 2008 2:14PM]

you're stoked about madcatz?

man, every madcatz Item I've ever bought has been shit, and either broke or not worked right. maybe I just have bad luck, then again, I hear the same thing from everyone else.
it's tempting, always tempting, because it's low cost, but you don't even get what you pay for, you get less.

if anyone from madcatz reads this : please, fall down the stairs, stop making crap. go away.

[uagent @ Jan 4th 2008 3:08PM]

bahaha Tell me about it man. I have one of their GameCube controllers appropriately dubbed "The Gimpy Controller". My entire family used to argue over who got stuck with it, and my parents got me a Wavebird the next Christmas as a not-so-subtle hint that they were tired of getting destroyed in Monkey Ball because of it...

[sgt_easton @ Jan 4th 2008 3:15PM]

Like everyone else is saying, Mad Catz's stuff sucks. I had two PS2 controllers by them, one wired and one wireless, and they were both horrible. I'll never buy anything by them again.

What happens when you buy a Mad Catz accessory? You use it until it breaks, and then you go buy the first party accessory, realizing you should have in the first place.

[HyperHacker @ Jan 4th 2008 3:32PM]

Mad Catz made the best SNES controller ever. Perfect size and shape, most durable controller I ever used, still works great.

I find this strange, because it's the only Mad Catz product I've ever used that wasn't total shit.

[Eric @ Jan 4th 2008 4:59PM]

I kind of thought that MadCatz had shut down, for some reason.

I'd like to see some more variety in the controllers... no more Strats, SGs, Explorers, Les Pauls, or, my favourite, the "stretched-out Strat" that some third party is making for Guitar Hero.

Let's get some Telecaster or hollowbody action.

[Blake Bowen @ Jan 5th 2008 4:43AM]

I bought a MadCatz memory card, and it bricked my gamecube. No more madcatz stuff for me, thanks.