Mad Catz purr-ipherals see strong Q2 sales

by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 18th 2008 at 7:45PM }

Peripheral manufacturer Mad Catz saw net sales up over 50% to $25.8 in the second quarter, but that didn't stop it from experiencing a net loss of $1.2 million at the end of the balance sheet. CEO Darren Richardson believes the company's strong sales come from purchasing competitors Joytech and Saitek late last year.

Although dubiousness still haunts the quality of Mad Catz products in gamer's minds, that's never stopped mom from buying one of the company's controllers because it's cheaper and asking, "What's the difference?" The company has certainly tried to alter gamer's perceptions of the company by getting the license to Rock Band 2 products. Although, like in the case of the portable drum kit, we don't know if it's making headway.

Tags: mad-catz, madcatz, peripherals

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

lee @ Nov 18th 2008 7:51PM

madcatz suck balls

Jason @ Nov 18th 2008 7:57PM

This has got to be propaganda. Nobody wants their crap. I'd rather have a chinese knock-off of the original thing. At least then I could pretend it didn't suck ass.

A Pissed-off English Gamer @ Nov 19th 2008 8:04AM

They make their pads out of an inferior sub-plastic; they do so out of the bones of children, possibly the ones who worked for them.

A Pissed-off English Gamer @ Nov 19th 2008 8:06AM

Oh, had to add this. The madcatz logo is a great touch.
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/8/1/

Premature ejaculation man @ Nov 18th 2008 7:53PM

I've forgotten about 3rd party peripherals this generation actually. Perhaps 1st party stuff rocks?

CynicalStrike @ Nov 18th 2008 8:13PM

Whenever I think of 3rd party controllers I think of this utter monstrosity of an N64 controller a mate had back in the day; tacky gold plastic (literally sticky-feeling), about the size of a housebrick and with a analog stick purpose-built to cripple thumbs and cause huge blisters. They're always just plain wrong.

Premature ejaculation man @ Nov 18th 2008 8:42PM

I hope your friend has learned to not buy things because they are cheaper and shiny :P

CynicalStrike @ Nov 18th 2008 8:51PM

Nope. He's an idiot like that.

Alien Lord @ Nov 18th 2008 7:59PM

The only mad catz product I ever bought was a tiny controller for my nephew when he was 9 and it worked fine but the rest of their shit seems pointless.

Jeff @ Nov 18th 2008 9:32PM

Funny comments! I do agree, the ONLY item I bought from them was a smaller xbox controller for my son.

Again because they were the only option.

brighenne @ Nov 18th 2008 8:03PM

$25.80! Sweet.

DiL @ Nov 18th 2008 8:03PM

mad catz is like my rash... it wont go away...

Markez @ Nov 19th 2008 12:45AM

That's what you get for chasing all those 3rd party and 2nd rate clown prostitutes.

Chase @ Nov 18th 2008 8:25PM

Your products are still terrible, Mad Catz.

Trizero @ Nov 18th 2008 9:12PM

Yeah, yeah, keep in mind: When you're the only company that has a deal with Harmonix for cymbals, you pretty much made a money printing machine.

Their cymbals are the first thing I'm buying after Christmas, they seem sturdy. Looks like they MAY finally have turned around!

DVersion @ Nov 18th 2008 9:30PM

I guess it pays to make some good quality products for one. People don;t believe that the Rock Band bass guitar I have was made by mad catz

Canilash @ Nov 21st 2008 12:55PM

Anyone else ever had a PlayStation 1 not take normal controllers after using a 3rd party one? I'm scared of 3rd party stuff ever since...

Jesse @ Nov 18th 2008 9:57PM

The problem with 3rd Party stuff is people only want official stuff. I remember a time when Logitech was tiny and made products that weren't all together perfect but now they practically rule the PC world and have some great respect in the gaming community (force feedback steering wheels).

I know I've gotten all of my controllers for my consoles much cheaper than MSRP because I buy them when I find them on sale. If I needed a controller and a Madcatz controller actually looked like it might work work, I'll take the cost savings over the 1st party controller.

Although, the controller better look like it will last longer than a month and it should fit nicely in my hand (this in turn is a big problem due to copyrights)

Dave @ Nov 19th 2008 3:34AM

I think the greater problem is that there isn't a "premium" 3rd party manufacturer. You hear nothing but complaints about "Wah, the PS3 controller is too small", "Wah, the 360s controller is too big", Wah, the Wii Nunchuck isn't wireless"

Logitech is the best we've got, (in my opinion, I don't doubt Logitech quality for a second), but Madcatz, Pelican, and others choose to play the part of the discount option instead of taking on the first party peripherals head on.

If they ever did, though, I'd be excited as hell.

Jesse @ Nov 19th 2008 9:52AM

That is a good point. Even though people do whine about the 1st party controllers we have, we've accepted the fact that nothing better will come along.

Personally, I don't know how I would react to a different shaped PS3 controller. The Wii... oh boy... I just was playing Super Paper Mario and while the wii's controller is versatile it's uncomfortable. And there are plenty of design flaws with the Xbox360.

But if I were the 3rd party vendor... trying to convince mommies and daddies and bratty children that my controller was far superior to that of Sony's, Microsoft's, or Nintendo's will be pretty damn difficult unless the price is drastically less.

The problem associated with that is the manufacturing process needs to cost as little as possible to maximize profits, resulting in cheaper materials and cutting lots of corners. So until a company like Madcatz or even Logitech for that matter can convince the world that their version of our console controllers are just as good, if not better and make it cost only a small amount less, ill-informed soccer mom's will just continue to disappoint their spoiled children on Christmas morning.