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Mad Catz Rock Band Wireless Fender Telecaster 'Player's Edition' might just get Dylan to go electric

by Laura June posted Oct 7th 2009 at 9:44PM

If you're really, really into fake guitar playing, Mad Catz newest 'Player's Edition' Fender Tele might be just the thing for you. It boasts four ways to kick yourself into Overdrive (traditional tilting, a backtuning button, a touch sensitive pickup over the strumming bar, and a sold-separately Electro Harmonix pedal), plus some new fast action Shredderz fret buttons. Of course, the real draw here is aesthetic, and they've definitely hit all the right notes, there. The Rock Band Telecaster is available now, and it's going to run you $109.99 -- but you can make that in busking tips, right?

Mad Catz announces 'Round Two' Street Fighter IV fightpads and fightstick

by Donald Melanson posted Sep 25th 2009 at 8:03PM

It's not doing anything crazy like lowering the price, but it looks like Mad Catz is at least set to give fighting game fans a few more options when it comes to choosing their peripheral of choice. As usual, the headliner is the company's Tournament Edition fightstick, which dials things back after the explosion of color on the Comic-Con exclusive edition, but otherwise remains identical inside and out. Those that honed their Street Fighter skills on their SNES or Genesis can also now choose from a new range of fightpads, featuring artwork with your choice of M. Bison, Guile, Zangief, C. Viper, Cammy, or Sagat. No firm release date just yet, but the whole lot should be out sometime this fall for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with the fightstick setting you back the usual $149.99, and the fightpads running a considerably more affordable $39.99 apiece.

[Via Joystiq]

Mad Catz Modern Warfare 2 peripherals break cover, reveal pricing

by Vladislav Savov posted Sep 11th 2009 at 4:34AM

You should already have a pretty good idea of what extra sauce Mad Catz will be bringing to Modern Warfare 2's November 10 release, but here are some up close and personal snaps of the hardware anyway. Monochromatic camo patterns -- all the rage in that war-torn near-future world -- are evident throughout and will cost you a cent under $50 for either of the Xbox 360 or PS3 Combat Controllers, the Combat Keyboard or Sniper Mouse, or a cool hundred for the Elite Keyboard with a blood-red backlight. And if you want to spruce up your current hardware, gamepad faceplates and Xbox 360 Skinz will be available for $15 and $30, respectively. Feeling like a badass comes as a free extra.

Gallery: Mad Catz Modern Warfare 2 peripherals

[Via Joystiq]

Mad Catz ships $300 Fender Stratocaster Rock Band guitar, disgraces real musicians everywhere

by Darren Murph posted Sep 4th 2009 at 9:01AM

We always knew something like this was a realistic possibility, but we had high hopes that it'd never really come to fruition. Today, what little hope we had left in humanity has been thoroughly crushed, as the introduction of a guitar controller that costs far more than many actual guitars has occurred. In an effort to truly milk the sector for all it's worth, Mad Catz has begun to ship the sunburst-colored Rock Band Wireless Wooden Fender Stratocaster, which is a 1:1 replica of the iconic axe that is constructed from genuine Stratocaster wooden blanks. Heck, even the tuning keys and bridge are built from genuine Fender metal parts and fittings. There's also a wireless module designed to function with Microsoft's Xbox 360, and just so you know you're getting your money's worth, the $299.99 asking price also includes a Fender guitar strap and a headset socket for online play. So, who out there is brazen enough to admit that they're buying one (or two)?

[Via OhGizmo]

Gallery: Mad Catz Fender Stratocaster Rock Band guitar

Video: Mad Catz doles out Modern Warfare 2 controllers for young (and old) whippersnipers

by Vladislav Savov posted Aug 26th 2009 at 4:57AM

If Infinity Ward's own Prestige Edition of Modern Warfare 2 isn't enough to satisfy your lust for custom hardware, Mad Catz is ready to pick up the slack with no less than ten MW2-branded peripherals. The crown jewel to the set will be the Combat Controller, which will have a couple of extra buttons, but more importantly, is likely the gamepad Robert Bowling was tweeting about last month. Come this November, you'll also be able to talk smack via a Throat Communicator on the 360 or a more mundane Bluetooth Headset on the PS3, add Skinz to your controllers and Microsoft console, and even your neglected PC can be enriched with an Elite Keyboard and Sniper Mouse combo.

Update: IGN has been first to preview the full plethora of goods, and we've got the video for you after the break (Thanks, quasar).

[Via Joystiq]

Continue reading Video: Mad Catz doles out Modern Warfare 2 controllers for young (and old) whippersnipers

Special edition Mad Catz Street Fighter IV controllers set for limited engagement at Comic-Con

by Ross Miller posted Jul 20th 2009 at 8:49PM

Heading to Comic-Con this year? If not, you'll be missing out on a limited edition Street Fighter IV-branded FightSticks and FightPads from Mad Catz, with button layouts designed to maximize your hadouken-throwing efficiency and with a design the Joystiq crew labels as inspired by Sagat (the character) -- a perfect complement to your Tournament Edition sticks. According to Capcom's official blog, only 500 of each have been made, divided evenly between PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The pad will cost you $49.99, the sticks $179.99, and the online auction resale value guaranteed to be even more.

Gallery: Special edition Mad Catz Street Fighter IV controllers set for limited engagement at Comic-Con

[Via Joystiq]

Wii Balance Board Power Up Charging Stand from Mad Catz just dares you to revert to AAs

by Paul Miller posted Jun 8th 2009 at 11:28AM

There's just something so defiant about this "Power Up" charging stand from Mad Catz -- it seems specifically designed to take up as much cubic footage as possible, and even the name is domineering. The stand is bizarrely formed in the likeness of a miniature Wii Balance Board, with a replacement battery pack included in the kit with contact charging points to take out all the exertion of flipping the B-Board and swapping out batteries. A foot pedal release mechanism pops the Balance Board out of the stand, and there are a couple of free-spirited USB ports on the thing for charging up whatever other awkwardly-shaped gadgetry you might have around the house.

[Via Unplggd]

Electro-Harmonix Overdrive pedal just became a Rock Band 2 necessity

by Darren Murph posted May 28th 2009 at 4:49PM

The avoirdupois of the world rests on your shoulders as you await the mind-numbing riffs of Painkiller. You wonder how you'll prevent yourself from engaging in overdrive prematurely as your locks bang to and fro. Then you look down and see EHX's Overdrive pedal a stone's throw from your left foot. Exhale.

[Via Boing Boing]

Continue reading Electro-Harmonix Overdrive pedal just became a Rock Band 2 necessity

Mad Catz rolls out new Saitek Aviator flight sticks for Xbox 360, PS3

by Donald Melanson posted Jan 7th 2009 at 3:14PM

Flight sticks may not be quite as common as they were during the heyday of PC flight sims, but there's still quite a few would-be Chuck Yeagers out there, and Mad Catz is doing its best to cater to them with its new pair of Saitek Aviator sticks for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. From the looks of it, these are mostly identical to the existing Aviator PC flight stick, with the notable exception of the requisite console-specific buttons, and a slightly spiffed-up appearance. As a bonus, each of these will also double as a PC joystick although, naturally, you won't be able to swap 'em between a 360 and a PS3. Look for both to hit all the usual shops later this month for $50 apiece.

Mad Catz Street Fighter IV joysticks surface for PS3

by Darren Murph posted Dec 4th 2008 at 7:27AM

We at Engadget will always have a special place in our hearts for Street Fighter, and if you can't help but agree, you might be unable to resist picking up one of these. Mad Catz has introduced a new pair of joysticks for Sony's PlayStation 3: the Street Fighter IV FightStick Tournament Edition and the Street Fighter IV FightStick. The first will only be available in "very limited quantities," and it'll pack the exact Sanwa joystick and 30-millimeter buttons found in the official Street Fighter IV arcade machine; the latter is a more commoditized version with a more vanilla 'stick and plain jane buttons. Both devices are scheduled to ship on February 20th of next year, with pricing set at $149.99 and $69.99, respectively.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Read - Street Fighter IV FightStick Tournament Edition
Read - Street Fighter IV FightStick

Mad Catz's brilliant Rock Band Portable Drum Kit for Xbox 360 now on sale

by Darren Murph posted Sep 23rd 2008 at 6:14AM

No two ways about it, Mad Catz has a winner on its hand with this one. The Rock Band Portable Drum Kit for Xbox 360 is a complete skins kit designed to be shoved into most any backpack and played on nearly any solid surface. The rubber pads are designed to handle over a million strikes, though that antique coffee table you lay these on may, in fact, not be designed to withstand such abuse. For those not exactly kosher with a full-fledged kit consuming the den, this seems to be the perfect compromise. And hey, it's only $59.99 to boot. Ships "soon," but not "soon enough."

[Via OhGizmo]

Rock Band 2 standalone instruments set to ship next week

by Darren Murph posted Sep 11th 2008 at 7:29AM

Previously, the ship dates for Rock Band 2 instruments ranged from "sometime within the next few months" to "sometime." Now, however, we're hearing that the standalone wireless drums ($90) and guitar ($70) will begin to ship out next week (at least for the Xbox 360). Additionally, Mad Catz's Fender P-Bass wireless guitar controller ($70) and the wired ION Drum Rocker set ($300) should clutter up floor space around the same time. RB2 party to celebrate the Q3 close? Sign us up.

Mad Catz intros Fender Precision Bass for Rock Band

by Donald Melanson posted Sep 8th 2008 at 3:55PM

Just in case you didn't have enough fake instruments cluttering up your living room, Mad Catz has now let loose its Fender Precision Bass for Rock Band, which it helpfully reminds us is the first ever bass guitar for the game. Among other things, this one drops the whammy bar normally found on Rock Band / Guitar Hero guitars (the volume knob does the job instead), and it incorporates a new Split Strum Bar, which promises to let you strum and pluck notes faster than a standard strum bar. Unfortunately, it's only available for the Xbox 360 at the moment, but at least the $70 price tag isn't quite as excessive as some of the other "premium" guitars out there. Now, if only someone would offer a Neil Peart-style drum kit, we'd really be able to do Rush justice, or at least out-do their now infamous performance on The Colbert Report.

Mad Catz Rock Band 2 cymbals, portable drums, premium mic, and more: spy shots galore

by Joshua Fruhlinger posted Jul 17th 2008 at 2:56PM

We promise this is the last Rock Band 2 post of the day (okay, maybe hour), but we were just pulled aside at E3 to peep some less-than over-the-radar product sheets for some upcoming Mad Catz accessories. First off, the Premium M.I.C. ($50) is said to have "studio quality" sound all the while including control buttons -- something we didn't realize was missing from the original Rock Band mic until we thought about it. Then we spotted the Portable Drums ($60), which is great news for those of you who excel at drums but like to play Rock Band on the road. They can be used on any surface and even come with foldable drum sticks. Next up, the Official Cymbals ($30 for a pack of 3 or $15 each) for the new Rock Band 2 drum kit are coming from Mad Catz. Remember those three 1/8-inch plugs on the back of the drum kit head? Yeah, these plug into those. Finally, the Kick Drum Screen doesn't really do much, but it certainly will make you look like a pseudo-real drummer (depending on the angle). Mad Catz says all of these random accessories will hit store shelves this fall. Oh, and apologies for the image quality -- these were literally taken in the corner of a crowded room with maybe two seconds of view time per page.

Gallery: Mad Catz Rock Band 2 Accessories Madness

Live shots of Mad Catz's full-size Rock Band 2 Fender Stratocaster and Precision Bass controllers

by Joshua Fruhlinger posted Jul 17th 2008 at 11:31AM

While we love Rock Band 2 as much as the next guy, playing that miniaturized plastic controller will forever look a little dorky (or just make us look like giant men, which is kind of cool). Nothing wrong with looking dorky -- heck, we make a living of it -- but Mad Catz's new full-size Stratocaster and Precision Bass controllers for Rock Band 2 are bringing the cool back. They're exactly what you think they are: actual Fender Squire axes turned into Rock Band 2 controllers, with the size, heft, and weight you'd expect from dad's electric guitar. Of special note was the Precision Bass controller, which has a dual flipper and thumb rest to allow fast pickers to do their thing Entwistle-style. They are also wireless, will come with a foot pedal for overdrive, and the guitar controller will have a whammy bar, of course. Unfortunately, Mad Katz didn't add the optical sensor for display calibration, but we'll forgive them for now. Look for these for $199 in Q1 2009 for both Xbox 360 and PS3. We caught them live at E3, and they look as impressive as they sound. Peep the gallery below if you dare.