Mad Catz takes aim at Microsoft with its own Wireless-N Gaming Adapter
By Donald Melanson 
posted Nov 16th 2009 7:37PM
posted Nov 16th 2009 7:37PM
Well, go figure. It seems like some companies see Microsoft's new and pricey Wireless N adapter for the Xbox 360 as a prime candidate for some competition. One of the first out of the gate is Mad Catz, which has just released its new Wireless-N Gaming Adapter that packs a slightly more reasonable MSRP of $80 (twenty bucks less than Mircosoft's), and should no doubt see even bigger discounts than the official Microsoft option. As you may have already guessed, however, this one is actually just a standard wireless bridge aimed at the gamer crowd, which just so happens to mean it'll also work just fine with the PlayStation 3 if you're looking to step-up to 802.11n or take advantage of the forthcoming Adhocparty service.
Very nice, I like...
Wait, you said Mad Catz? oohh, nevermind.
Someone should put Mad Catz down.
Worst PS3/xbox/PC peripherals I've ever owned. Yes, I gave them four chances before I learned :(
How about 20 feet of Ethernet cable for $6.00?
ill wait til it gets some of those awesome graphics on it. SIKE.
These Catz must be Mad!
Amazon has the new xbox 360 wireless N adapter for $88! I'd rather get this than some crazy knock off.
And it's still a rip off. Just buy a WHR-G300N for $45, flash it with DD-WRT, and set it up as a wireless bridge. That's all this thing is doing
MS is gonna ban your WHR-G300N.
Amen. I've been using a wireless bridge on my 360 since I picked up my 360 last November. This hardware is playing in the technically inept.
Ya know, I thought about that option long and hard.
... and then I bought a long ass ethernet cable for $20.
$20? You were had, son.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10208&cs_id=1020813&p_id=4923&seq=1&format=2
@Scott.
I thought so too, but I call it "Canadian Retailers"
Some also call it highway robbery.
Careful, Microsoft might announce a sudden update that locks it out!
Don't think so, this looks like a wireless->ethernet bridge. So from the Xbox360's point of view it's just connected to a wired connection.
Just get a wii already
Nono, we still want to game.
Cool and I can play all my games that I have for my 360 on the Wii right?
Fook off troll. I have a Wii as well and even then there are better games on the 360, hell I use it more too since I can stream movies from my desktop as well.
Just buy the Pelican version of this for 40 and be happier. Unless you HAVE to have Wireless-N, it'll be cheaper and more reliable than this.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10208&cs_id=1020813&p_id=4923&seq=1&format=2
Your welcome
no, sir, you're welcome.
Madcatz? Puh-leeze.
TRENDnet, please. I love my N gaming adapter:
http://overclockershq.com/peripheral-reviews/trendnet-gaming-wireless-n-adapter-review.html
I always wondered why people bought these adapters specific to a game console or something. Just get a bridge and you can use it for any game console and anything else that requires an internet connection.
Either way at least this is cheaper.
http://www.rewls.com
And still overpriced!
I love how engadget writes this up as though it's something new. Linksys and Trendnet both have wireless bridges that they've been marketing as "gaming adapters" for some time now.
Yeah, its just marketing/branding bs, giving us all another holiday purchase option
I dont think I'd ever buy anything from a company called Mad Catz, except for maybe pet supplies.
I have been using the Linksys N bridge for both my 360 and DirecTV DVR with good results since it came out.
DD-WRT. That's how my 360 goes wireless.
Mad Catz huh. My guess is they recall them cause they stop working in a month like al the other cheap Mad Catz crap.
don't you run spell check? "mircosoft?"
Well, one reason it's cheaper than the "knock-offs" - they only support 2.4GHz whereas the MS adapter does both 2.4GHz and 5GHz: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/x/xbox360wirelessnnetadapter
It's still a lot of money for a WiFi adapter, but what isn't for the 360, but at least this time MS are giving you a better piece of kit.
I got my xbox N adaptor for 67 from amazon. I rather have it attached to my system than a stand alone sitting on the side of it.
The bridge solution works for sure but then you have to have another power adaptor plug and the ethernet cable to connect to the Xbox or PS3 or what ever your making wireless. If you take your system out side to play once or twice a week on a projector like I do it is a pain to have to use a bridge I like the built on wireless G but I did use a bridge (wireless G) for my PS3 20gig that did not have wifi and it worked well. I sold the PS3 20Gig and got the 80Gig that has the wifi built in but now if you want N for the PS3 I guess the bridge is the only way to go unless they come out with one that can plug into USB and work. Good to have options I guess. I would like the N adaptor for the Xbox but $88.00 bucks ouch!
maybe somebody can give an educated answer cos i don't know. the ps3 has wireless built in, would a software update over the ps3 be able to make the wireless technology work with 802.11 N as well as the a/b i think it is?? or would it require a new wireless chip inside and so on? be grateful for a good answer. thank you in advance
@Liam,
No. New chip is needed.
Here's what I don't get: Most folks are limited by their cable/DSL connection to less than 10Mb/s (typical home user, excluding college campuses, corporate networks, fiber to the curb, etc.). Getting an N rated wireless connection capable of over 100Mb/s doesn't make any sense. Your internet connection is a choke point you cannot get around, no matter how fast you switch packets in your own network. In other words, it doesn't matter how fast you switch internally, you'll still be limited by your own internet connection, which, by the way, will restrict outbound speeds to something much less than the advertised download speed. Now, if you do a decent amount of gaming within your own network, then I could see the advantage (maybe), except that my current G wireless connection performs flawlessly, further reducing the need to upgrade to an N rated connection. I just don't see the logic. If someone can show me the light, please do. I need another reason to blow more money on my gaming setup.
To argue my own point, I suppose one could justify the N connection (or anything faster than G) by theorizing the improved performance for those times when TCP connections are reset, or packets are fragmented, or silly MTU constraints, or just a really busy wireless network, make the case for a faster internal connection. Again, for the typical user, these ought to be rare occurrences. Corporate users may be subjected to complex NAT's, nasty routing setups, etc. On the last point, if you're able to play the 360 on your corporate network, please let me know where you work, as I'd like to send in my resume.
You're forgetting all those wanting to stream video with their 360s from local sources such as Media Center or WHS. "N" makes sense for them.
Well, I didn't forget about them, but I did fail to mention them. I do agree there is a benefit in those cases. However, for pure internet gaming, upgrading to N is a waste of money.
Like Taomyn said. "G" can handle standard def stream well and sometimes HD content (of course, dependent on distance, walls etc), but to get good performance out of HD content, "N" makes sense.
I didn't know Mircosoft made Wireless N adapters for the Microsoft XBOX 360. I wonder if they're any good?
This should sell online for about $44.95 after 2 months, OH yea, I thought 802.11n needs 2 antennas
as far as i can tell from googling it, the 2nd antenna would only be used for a dual band setup. Meaning you wouldn't notice any difference if you only had a regular N router, but would suck if you had forked out for the dual band.