Gaming peripheral maker Mad Catz has announced that it will be returning to business, and the first three products in its revamped lineup will be showed off at this year’s CES event. The company declared bankruptcy and sold off many of its assets earlier this year, and a China-based company made up mostly of former Mad Catz manufacturing partners and suppliers bought up most of the assets, and is now relaunching the company that they helped drive to success under a new name; Mad Catz Global Limited. The new company will reportedly more closely mirror the late Mad Catz outside of the console and licensed peripheral sectors, putting out reasonable, high-end wares with an initial focus on the PC market. Gear for consoles is reportedly in the works, with more details to be announced in the near future. Nothing has been said about the mobile space just yet.
The first new product to be shown off is a revival of Mad Catz’ previous gaming mouse series, the R.A.T. AIR. This unique mouse carries on with the full-on adjustability and outlandish styling the series is known for, but adds in continual wireless power from an included high-end mousepad called G.L.I.D.E., made for ease of use and precision. The wire is linked to the pad rather than the mouse, so you get all of the benefits of a cord, being infinite use time without changing batteries or charging, along with all of the freedom of a wireless mouse. The S.T.R.I.K.E. 4 keyboard is a fully mechanical affair with an aluminum frame and customizable lighting. The new products are rounded out by the F.R.E.Q. 4, a gaming headset with a blend of retro and gamer styling that boasts 40mm neodymium drivers, metal plating, and an adjustable boom.
Mad Catz’ return can be seen more as a revolution than a revival, if you’re a longtime fan. This likely won’t be the same Mad Catz that sold you the cheap Dreamcast controller that you always let your friends use, or the tiny, see-through GameCube controller that your younger family loved for letting them play the same games you played. Likewise, this seems to be a more humble and grounded Mad Catz, going back to the company’s roots. It all started in the late 80s and early 90s with some of the earliest third-party gaming peripherals, and just when Mad Catz was dominating the market, it made a few too many reckless moves and wound up betting everything on the success of Rock Band 4. That bad move put the company’s financials in a dire enough state that it was eventually forced to close up shop. From the beginning, the company used cheap manufacturing out of Shenzen, China alongside American marketing and corporate departments to keep costs low while staying on the pulse of the markets it served, and this revival marks the Chinese element wresting control of the company’s product line and image from the elements that sunk it the first time around.
