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Pro gaming tournament will ask attendees to open fight sticks
Following the shooting that occurred last month during a Madden 19 tournament in Jacksonville, Florida, a number of tournament organizers said they planned to beef up security at their upcoming events. Additional safety measures would include metal detectors, more thorough searches of attendees as well as a heavier law enforcement presence. But later, the SoCal Regionals tournament took its new security measures to another level, saying attendees would need to unlatch or unscrew their arcade sticks for inspection upon entry.
Killer Instinct FightStick for Xbox One is up for preorder
A Killer Instinct-branded version of Mad Catz's forthcoming, Xbox One-flavored Tournament Edition 2 FightStick is up for pre-order on the peripheral manufacturer's official shop. At $200, the extent of the stick's Killer Instinct-ness appears to be its artwork, which can easily be removed and replaced thanks to the TE2's removable bezel. Otherwise, the stick features all of the bells and whistles touted by the prototype we first saw at E3: Sanwa-Denshi parts, multi-setting LED lighting effects, removable cable, easy access to the sticks innards and an onboard screwdriver with swappable heads. The Killer Instinct Tournament Edition 2 FightStick launches alongside the Xbox One on November 22.
Mad Catz Tournament Edition 2 FightStick for Xbox One is customizable, out this fall
Mad Catz has a brand-spankin-new arcade stick to go along with Microsoft's brand-spankin-new Xbox One: the Tournament Edition 2 FightStick. At first glance, it may look like nothing more than a slightly flashier version of the existing models, but beyond the fact that it comes equipped with the same Sanwa Denshi parts, the TE2 is a whole new beast. The case opens on a hinge, to start with. Pressing the Mad Catz logo on the front of the unit releases a latch that grants access to the internals of the stick, which has been designed so that nearly every piece of the thing can be replaced or customized with the user's choice of buttons, micro-switches, LED mods or what-have-you. There's even compartments for extra buttons and an on-board screwdriver for removing the mounting bracket that holds the buttons and stick. We weren't allowed to photograph the inside of the stick as its design isn't finalized, but we're told the final version will also contain storage for spare joysticks and the TE2's detachable cable, which will be sold in varying lengths. What we did see, however, was the stock LED lighting effects under the buttons and on the side panels. The stick is also designed in such a way that the artwork can be replaced without having to remove the joystick or buttons. Mad Catz was unable to comment on whether replacement side panels will be sold, or if replacement plexiglass inserts will be available for people that prefer different button layouts. The Tournament Edition 2 FightStick will be available alongside the Xbox One at launch, though its price point has yet to be announced.%Gallery-191426%%Gallery-191509%
PlayStation 4 incompatible with PS3 Mad Catz Tournament Edition FightSticks
Mad Catz's extensive line of PlayStation 3 Tournament Edition FightSticks will not function with Sony's new PlayStation 4, Joystiq confirmed today with Mad Catz senior product development manager Richard Neville. "Playstation 4 will require a whole new set of peripherals," Neville said. Currently, Mad Catz has announced that it is launching a new and improved Tournament Edition 2 FightStick for the Xbox One when that console is released sometime this year, but the peripheral manufacturer was unable to comment on the availability of future PlayStation 4 sticks.
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 FightStick available for Wii U, PS3, and Xbox
You can now own an arcade stick for your Wii U, helpfully labeled with the one game you'd need an arcade stick for, Tekken Tag Tournament 2. The Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Fightstick S from Mad Catz is now available for $160. The controller connects to the Wiimote via a 3.3 foot-long controller cable.PS3 and Xbox sticks are also available, called the "FightStick S+" because of extra foam padding on the bottom and swappable Tekken artwork. They retail for the same price.
Street Fighter X Sanrio line from Mad Catz includes arcade stick, iPhone/iPad cases
We're not entirely sure why Street Fighter's 25th anniversary equates to a cross-promotional merchandising deal with Sanrio, but man are we glad that it does. Not only do we get adorable figures and plushies out of the partnership, but now Mad Catz has introduced a line of Street Fighter X Sanrio products that are both the cutest and have practical applications beyond said cuteness.Obviously, the Street Fighter X Sanrio Fighstick Pro (above) tugs at a very, very specific part of our heart, even if it does cost $160. While not stated specifically in any of its promotional materials, we feel it's safe to assume the arcade stick uses the same Sanwa Denshi parts as the Street Fighter X Tekken Fightstick Pro models it's based on. Just, you know, very pink.The line also includes iPhone 5 and iPad 2/3 cases in your choice of Hello Kitty Chun-Li or Hello Kitty Ryu flavors, which run for $35 and $45 respectively and can be seen in the gallery below.%Gallery-173109%
Michael McDonald arcade stick, for takin' it to the Street Fighters
You're not going to find a better custom PS2 arcade stick with a better picture of a better Doobie Brother.
Qanba introduces line of ambidextrous arcade sticks
The raging battle between Southpaws and Righties wages ever onward, with each side continuing to produce products for their own kind in an attempt to eventually convert the global population to their way of doing things. Some companies, however, are trying to create peace between the warring factions by introducing products that either side can use.Take Qanba, for instance: The Chinese arcade stick manufacturer has announced a new line of ambidextrous sticks that can be flipped and reversed with the flick of a switch. Launching sometime next month, the "Q2-PRO Battle of Wits" can be oriented with the stick on the left or on the right, depending on how you were raised, and will be available in PS3/PC, 360/PC and PS3/360/PC flavors. No pricing information is available as of yet, but can you really put a price on world peace?
Video review: Mad Catz Arcade FightStick Soul Edition
A few weeks ago, Mad Catz sent me one of its latest arcade sticks, the SoulCalibur 5 branded Soul Edition arcade fightstick. After daily testing on SC5, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Mortal Kombat, the Soul Edition not only met my expectations, but exceeded them, as you can tell from the review video above.The company's Tournament Edition sticks have always been excellent pieces of hardware, and the Soul Edition is no exception. It's solidly constructed from arcade-quality parts and is heavy enough to stay in place, regardless of whether you fight on a table-top or your lap. The stick's striking motif and subtle design elements set it apart from every other mass-produced arcade stick on the market; if you want to stand out at your local Ranking Battles without incurring the cost of a custom-made stick, you'd be hard pressed to find a piece of fighting tech that's this unique, right out of the box.
Mad Catz unveils a suite of Street Fighter X Tekken sticks
Mad Catz's Street Fighter X Tekken FightSticks have changed since we last saw them. Not only has the company abandoned the red-and-white colorway, there are now more sticks in the line. The now-black FightStick Pro is the next evolution of the Tournament Edition stick, with Sanwa parts and internal cable storage. The Arcade FightStick VS. Edition seems to be similar in design, but two of them can be connected with an optional attachment to create a continuous arcade machine-style panel. And the new FightPad SD is 15% smaller than previous FightPads, "inspired by the gaming preferences of legendary Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono." No prices were given for any of these new accessories, but Mad Catz did offer the expected release window: concurrent with the game's March 6 debut.%Gallery-143998%
The Joystiq Joystick, chapter 1: Parts
You see that video up there? That was taken at Arcade UFO in Austin, TX, during its 2011 fall Ranking Battle tournament series. The fight was between me and the arcade's owner, Ryan Harvey, and took place on a custom built Mortal Kombat arcade cabinet, one of the few in existence at the time. I'm the guy playing Kitana, and if you watch the whole thing, you'll see that I'm also the guy who loses. That's all right though, because I should have lost that fight. Fubarduck (as Ryan is known in the fighting game community) is an exceptional fighting-game player, as his multiple Top-8 finishes at EVO will attest, and his combo execution was far more solid than what I was laying down with Kitana. Ryan had won, I had learned something about fighting Johnny Cage, and we all moved on. Right? Well, in a perfect world yes, but unfortunately we live in a world where this fight is available on YouTube. By now I've watched it dozens of times, and at this point I can pinpoint every single mistake I made over the course of those matches. Most of them were strategic mistakes, granted, but there were also execution errors: Because the arcade parts Ryan uses in his cabinets are far superior to the parts in the $35 fight stick I practice with at home, I was at a disadvantage. High quality joysticks and buttons are light, accurate and require very little manual force to move. Cheaply made parts, on the other hand, are stiff and less responsive, and as such require a lot more effort. My hands, being acclimated to a sub-standard stick, were expecting to work a lot harder than they needed to. I was forward-jumping instead of dashing, doing directional normals instead of neutral normals ... The whole fight was a mess, looking back. It was a good fight, though, because it made me realize how important it is to own a proper fight stick once you get serious about competitive fighting games. After all, a craftsman's tools are as important as the skill he has acquired, as far as the final result is concerned. To that end, I'm going to build my own, custom fight stick, and you're coming along for the ride.
Hori making Soulcalibur 5 branded fight sticks
Remember how Mad Catz is going to make those gorgeous, dynamically styled Soulcalibur 5 themed fight sticks? Well, if shiny bevelled edges and an LED-ready see-through plastic casing aren't your jam, accessories manufacturer Hori has a rather minimalistic alternative: The Soulcalibur 5 Joystick. The stick's fancy name matches the rest of its aesthetic, and is slated for a January 2012 release, with versions being made for both the 360 and PS3. While Hori has yet to announce pricing or parts information, the size of the stick suggests that it will be similar to their Sanwa-packing $140 Real Arcade Pro. That's wild speculation on our part, of course, so while we're speculating let's go ahead and say that the stick is also filled with molasses. Gross, Hori!
Mad Catz proves its soul still burns with Soul Calibur V Arcade FightStick Soul Edition
If you're a fan of arcade-style fighting games, you're surely hip to MadCatz's FightStick Tournament Edition for PS3 and Xbox 360. As it's done with Street Fighter in the past, the company is back with another variation of the arcade stick, this time officially themed for the upcoming Soul Calibur V. Launching near the game in January 2012, the Soul Calibur V Arcade FightStick Soul Edition features the usual masher-friendly eight button with joystick layout, but sports a casing endowed with visuals inspired by the game -- and an extremely unfortunate mix of hues. The crazy Cat hasn't announced a price yet, but considering these have gone for about $150 in the past, we'd imagine this one won't be too far off. Full details in the press release after the break.
Soulcalibur 5 fight stick coming courtesy of Mad Catz
You'll be able to 8-way-run in style next year, as Mad Catz is introducing a Soulcalibur 5-themed version of its Tournament Edition FightStick, shipping for Xbox 360 and PS3 to coincide with the launch of Namco's latest. Fittingly, it's called the "Soul Edition," though it thankfully doesn't claim to take the soul of its user in exchange. Like the Soul Edge, however, SC5's fight stick is composed of mythical, unknown parts (Mad Catz isn't telling just yet). The "Soul Edition" fight stick will launch in January 2012 alongside Soulcalibur 5, though we've yet to receive an official price.%Gallery-137701%
Online-exclusive Tekken Hybrid bundle adds exclusive FightStick
Namco Bandai is relaunching its "ClubNamco" online store with an exclusive Tekken Hybrid bundle. The $249.99 set, limited to 1,000 units, contains the Tekken Hybrid limited edition, along with an exclusive Namco-branded Mad Catz Tournament Edition S FightStick, which might be the most understated arcade stick we've seen. Pre-orders open today in advance of the game's official release date is November 22. While the real purpose of the stick is to play Tekken Tag Tournament HD and the Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Prologue included in Hybrid, the PS3-exclusive release also includes Tekken: Blood Vengeance, making that the first movie we can think of to have an official arcade stick.
Mad Catz making official MLG FightSticks and controllers
If you're not good enough at fighting games to make a living in the MLG, but want to look like you are, Mad Catz has announced a line of MLG-branded accessories, starting with a Tournament Edition Arcade FightStick. The stick is functionally identical to the Super Street Fighter IV FightSticks, with buttons and joystick by renowned parts maker Sanwa Denshi, a button lock for the turbo switches and home buttons, and a compartment in the back for cable storage. It just lacks, you know, Street Fighter imagery, because it's for professionals. Mad Catz has other new MLG-themed controllers to show off, which it will do at the MLG Pro Circuit in Raleigh, NC this weekend.
Street Fighter X Tekken 'FightStick Pro' spotted
Mad Catz is working on a new series of FightSticks, starting with a Street Fighter X Tekken model. Though we don't have details about the internals of the new "FightStick Pro," or the price or release date or really anything, we did see one, play Street Fighter X Tekken with it, and then take the above picture. A Capcom rep informed us that this was a prototype, so despite it looking super fresh, the final version might look different. A quick inspection of the underside revealed a Comic-Con logo, suggesting that we'll learn more about this accessory at the July 21-24 event.
Grab a Hori Xbox 360 Fight Stick with Tekken 6 for $30 at Best Buy
Need a sturdier form of input for your latest fighting game acquisition, Marvel vs. Capcom 3? Best Buy has what might just be the cheapest Fight Stick on the internet: The retailer has marked the Tekken 6 Limited Edition for 360 -- which includes a nice little Hori Fight Stick -- down to $29.99.
Mad Catz making replacement FightStick panel for Mortal Kombat
The Mortal Kombat Tournament Edition arcade stick is great for Mortal Kombat, but isn't really usable for other games, due to the unique layout. During a Level|Up Live event, Mad Catz's Mark "MarkMan" Julio unveiled Mad Catz's novel Mortal Kombat solution: a replacement panel for current Tournament Edition FightSticks, allowing you to have arcade-perfect controls for multiple games with the same stick. The Mortal Kombat "Kombat Fight Stick Ultimate Edition Panel" allows users to replace the button layout of the edition Tournament Edition FightStick with one that approximates the classic Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 arcade panel, which is also used in the new Mortal Kombat. The buttons are a little closer together in this version for the sake of ergonomics. No price or release date was announced, but the panel will be available from Mad Catz's online store.
Marvel vs. Capcom 3 FightSticks shipping in time for the game
Chances are, a lot of people will be looking to buy an arcade stick with Marvel vs. Capcom 3 next week. Mad Catz, anticipating this obvious interest, is producing one just for such an occasion. The "Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition" keeps the hardware design and Sanwa Denshi brand arcade components from previous Street Fighter IV Tournament Edition FightSticks and adds new, surprisingly restrained Marvel vs. Capcom 3 artwork to the top panel of the stick. Like the most recent iterations of the FightStick, it also includes a locking mechanism to prevent accidental use of the turbo switches. 5,000 MvC3 FightSticks are being produced and will be available from Mad Catz's online store. No price has been named, but previous Tournament Edition sticks have retailed for around $150.%Gallery-115490%
