Mad Catz offers alternative to Xbox 360 Wireless N Networking Adapter

by JC Fletcher on Nov 16th 2009 2:29PM

Following the release of Microsoft's improved Wireless N Networking Adapter for Xbox 360, Mad Catz has announced its own wireless adapter, which improves upon Microsoft's device in a couple of ways. First, the adapter, essentially an Ethernet bridge, works with the PS3, allowing for the use of the 802.11n standard with Sony's console.

Second, and most importantly, the Mad Catz adapter improves upon the most reviled feature of the Microsoft model: the price. At $79.99 (£49.99/€59.99 in the UK and Europe), the Mad Catz Wireless-N Gaming Adapter is no impulse buy, but it's exactly twenty dollars better than Microsoft's version. Mad Catz told Joystiq that its device is currently shipping to North American and European retailers and will be available in the company's online store this week.

Source

Tags: mad-catz, Microsoft, peripherals, wireless-n, wireless-n-gaming-adapter, Xbox-360

Reader Comments (76)

I'd buy this for my printer. Do you think this will work?

Look before you leap.

Look on the bright side: At least your living room isn't rocking the Tower of Sega

Yes, it would. Any Ethernet device will. In fact you could connect a hub and connect several 10/100 devices to it.

For those that want Wireless-N and dual band for cheap, and don't mind refurbished:

$35 WGA600N RM which will work for the 360, or anything with an Ethernet port (including some printers).

http://unclevic.com/pd/185-1-0-7850-linksys-wga600n-wga600nd-wga600n-rm-wireless-n-gaming-adapter

Just bought one last week from this place... loving it so far!

Does it also do Dual Band (5GHz) or just 2.4GHz?

Seconded. At the 79.99 price, I'm kind of thinking this is 2.4ghz only.

And considering the press release reads 802.11b/g/n compatible instead of 802.11a/b/g/n, I think I'll pass.

Who the heck still uses A? Are we all in the Stone Age?

A has a higher data rate than B and G...

it's...it's like a different language....!

If you're using Media Center Extenders to stream live TV and stuff, you should be using a 5ghz wireless standard.

@ CHeesus,

A is actually much better than B, and rivals G. B is the horrible one here.

I'd consider buying two empty bean cans and a string instead, before I ever buy anything MadCatz again.

That's a low blow comparing those cans and a string to a MadCatz product. The string alone is a better value by virtue that it can do many things (Keeping mittens together, tying it around your index finger, etc.).

... now you're making my comment seem as if I was joking.

hey now, I had a MadCatz controller that lasted a whole 4 months before some buttons stopped working. That is waaaaaay beyond a 30 day warranty!

Indeed. I HATE that MS sells their wireless adapter for $100 but I would never make the mistake of trying to save money by buying a MadCatz product. It's basically a guarantee I will spend $180... $80 for the MadCatz adapter and $100 for a microsoft one when the MadCatz one fails after 2 months.

im still using the 50ft ethernet cable ive had since the original Xbox went online. i really only use the wifi to download demos and updates for my PS3 and Wii. I always have the ethernet plugged in if im playing a game online on the PS3, Wii, 360, or surfin the net on my laptop.

Wires can get annoying, but yeah, gotta love the $5 alternative.

(http://www.monoprice.com/products/search.asp?keyword=50ft%20cat5)

And you can color coordinate!

I still can't see how Microsoft got away with not including WiFi in the 360.

They were just trying to give us more options.

I pray that is sarcasm, Jedi.

inb4 thesearenotthedroidsyou'relookingfor

*waves hand*

The Jedi is a master of sarcasm. You will never question this again.

they wanted to keep the core price low as they could

Low? Ha! A 150 dollar DS had Wi-Fi in 2004.

Especially considering that you'd think Microsoft would want everyone to get their system online; lots more money to be made with XBL and DLC.

"I still can't see how Microsoft got away with not including WiFi in the 360. "

One year head start DUHH!!!!!

Personally I think it'd be more annoying if I had to pay extra to plug in an ethernet cable.

Because they put in wired (as a minimum), and realized if people didn't want to run cables throughout their house, they'd probably be willing to buy their overpriced wireless adapter for MOAR PROFIT, rather than buying a bridge (or a router and using it as a bridge) for less than the cost of the wireless adapter.

It's all about the benjamins baby (literally).

Why buy this when you could buy a cheap linksys wireless router, load dd-wrt on it and have a wireless bridge w 4 ethernet ports for $40-$60?

Madcatz = FAIL
My gf had purchased some wireless controllers for the original xbox.... made by madcatz, never worked properly, ever.

A lot of people would rather spend an extra $20 for something that just works instead of messing around with things they don't understand.

What is there to "not understand" ?

Point bridge to wireless network. Plug bridge into XBOX

It is the same as the microsoft or MadCatz solution....except that it comes from a reputable company.

You can get a linksys or netgear wireless-N bridge for around $80 give or take 10 dollars....

@Freedom

The OP is talking about using an actual router, not a bridge. You can often use routers, but they usually take a bit more configuration than a bridge. Plus, the OP is also talking about flashing a router with a 3rd party firmware. That step alone will make most consumers say "Screw that" and choose the less complicated option.

I thought Nutman was supporting the Microsoft 360 bridge as opposed to a normal wireless bridge, by saying its worth the premium. Missed the part about using a normal Router...my bad. But the point against the Microsoft branded one still holds true.

There is no chance the Microsoft would block this with an update like they did with the memory stick debacle.

Considering that all the XBox sees is an ethernet cable, I'd say it's highly unlikely ;).

That was my first thought, but it acts as a wireless bridge which means the xbox just sees it as a regular cable. However, the problem with bridges is that you can't change the wireless network on the xbox. My neighbour and I both have wireless networks, but if I want to log my router onto his network, I have to log in to my router, change the network ID and then restart it all. With the MS one, I believe it is all handled by the xbox directly.

These are a heck of a lot cheaper, and Pelican is a better brand than Mad Catz

http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Network-Adapter-Access-Xbox-360/dp/B001A5S6YG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1258400417&sr=8-1

They're on eBay for about 40 as well. Used mine for seven months with no issues.

Sure, it's just 802.11g...but it works.

cool. I'll look into this.

Score one for the free market. Competition is great.

How about no? Any wireless bridge works with XBOX, it always has.

@Ew44dsf: I hope the new dashboard update will lock people like you out. You radiate such an amount of "asshole"-ism, it shouldn't be hard to detect for any piece of hardware.

You also seem like the type of asshole that complains a toaster will only fit bread, a bagel at most.

See, Microsoft? This is how you give choice to your consumers. The wi-fi is included in the box and yet we can still upgrade it.

Don't bother with these, it'll only be a few firmware updates before '3rd party USB networking devices' get blocked, too. *sigh*

rtfa

It works as an ethernet bridge, not a usb reciever. As far as microsoft knows you're using a wired connection. They can't block this.

Assuming this is like the 3rd party Pelican unit I mentioned above, the 360 treats it as a wired connection, as it uses the Ethernet port. They don't know you're using a bridge, which means they can't block it.

hmmm... im liking the bringing wireless n to the ps3 part. ill have to see some reviews of that part of the functionality to see if its anywhere near worth it at $80.

At that price, it's not really cheaper than MS's solution, and I don't trust madcatz to make a good wireless bridge. They can't even make a decent controller and they've been making controllers for years. There are plenty of better, cheaper wireless bridges out there that are much better choices than this.

Especially since Amazon has dropped the official G adapter to 65 now.

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Mad Catz offers alternative to Xbox 360 Wireless N Networking Adapter

Reader Comments (76)

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