I actually had the same problem after the first time I played. Since the art is not smooth, when you move your hand using the stick it scratches the plexi underneath. Couldn’t bother to call Madcatz Japan to ask about it, since it’s a great stick and I love. I’ll probably buy a plexi replacement in the future, though. Will Madcatz sell somewhat harder plexi?
Note: I’m living in Japan and preordered the stick, so if the problem is moisture, it’s probably something to do with the transportation to here as well. (The sticks are not made in Japan, if I remember correctly)
Your hand scratches the plexi or the bottom side of the plexi gets scratched from the rough artwork? Does the plexi shift around when your playing? If so then maybe the buttons would of been a good idea to hold the plexi to the metal panel.
Pretty sure mine came with this problem from the start. I think it’s a problem with the art placement rather than the plexi though because I tried placing other parts of the plexi onto the sections where I got air bubbles and the air bubbles still came up.
Got mine sometime before Christmas (it was a present). After taking off the plexi, the rainbow effect is gone. It looks like the underside of the plexi has scratched the top of the laminate
I am looking to replace the side panels on my stick (can’t stand the color blue lol) are they available on the madcatz site? I looked on there and none of the side panels specify exactly what stick they are compatible with. side panels and picture change then stick mods are complete
Submitted a ticket to Madcatz to see if they can do anything about it. I did wipe down both the laminate and plexi and there are still weird rainbow splotches. The moisture must have affected the artwork as well as the plexi.
All this talk about scratches, discolorations, and wires being chewed up has me worried about quality now. After paying 200$ I would like to think I’m getting something that’s going to last. I understand wear and tear is inevitable, but problems in the first weeks of use are a little off putting. Do these sticks come with a warranty or parts replacement guarantee?
The wires thing is a pretty easy fix. By default the wires have some freedom to move to places you might not want them to be, but one zip tie later and you’re good to go.
This will prevent the colored wire bundle from ever moving to underneath the Joystick shaft lever which could grind on them if they get under there in the stock layout.
As far as the rainbow effect, it’s very similar to the effect of putting a protective transparent cover onto a iphone or OLED screens. At certain angles, the way the 2 pieces of transparent material make contact can give off a rainbow like “oil slick” effect. When you separate the 2 layers, it’s gone since it’s the way the layers bend light together that creates the effect. From a practical aspect it’s not really something hugely noticeable unless you’re really looking for it, staring at your joystick at specific angles under certain lighting conditions.
I personally am loving how accessible this thing is. Changing anything you want to on a whim is really a piece of cake. I would have loved a heads up about the new Quick Disconnects so that I didn’t waste my time prying on them with a flathead like the older ones - but now that I know they’re there it’s like I don’t know how they could have made it easier to swap buttons. It’s literally as easy as snapping the old one out, transfering the spacer to the new button, and snapping the new one back in - no need to remove the plexi or art.
Yeah pretty discouraging even if you paid over $250 Canadian with these quality control issues of bubbles, rainbow effect on the plexi, squeezy and flexible top lid, people saying their artwork is rough and scratching the plexi because the plexi has some movment etc…
I guess the bezel isn’t doing the best of jobs keeping the plexi in place especially that the buttons now don’t help hold the plexi down.
Yes we are rolling out a range of parts (including side panels) in 2015. We don’t have a final date but we should have everything ready by the time EVO comes. The TYPE N panel was the first piece we unveiled. We will have limited quantities of the LED board too (same as in KI), which also works on the PS4/PS3 sticks too.
In regards to the plexi issues. If you ordered/imported from Mad Catz Japan, let me know I can put you in touch with them still and try to help get it resolved. We stand by our products and want to support those who purchased from us with confidence. Set up a support ticket at support.madcatz.com then email me the ticket number and I’ll have my respective teams take a look at it to remedy it.
I’m out of the office until Jan. 12th but I’ll be paying attention to everything while I’m gone.
good to know there coming but that is half a year or so from now. If there is anyone who purchased the Xbox version of the stick and would like to trade side panels (red for blue) send me a message.
Since it’s a moisture problem, are you sure the desiccant in the packaging is large enough? With the physical size and releatively large volume of space inside the box and the stick proper, I’d imagine you’d need a pretty serious desiccant pack. Have one desiccant pack in the packaging and second taped to the inside of the stick itself?
Man, the tabs on the included Sanwa buttons seem very fragile. I broke one off making mine into a 6 button tonight, something I’ve never done before on a stick. I’ve got plenty of buttons sitting around, so it’s not an issue, but was just really surprised to see it happen. Also, the included screwdriver stripped the first time I used it- basically the wings on the shaft bit into the plastic handle when I was using it to try and unscrew the bezel frame screws, and now I can’t get it out.
Yeah I just got my GG Xrd stick and none came with it, so there were a few spots with moisture in it, you could tell because once you put your hand on the plexi the spot would grow and see a rainbow effect growing and shrinking so I just used a dry cloth to clean under the plexi and everything is fine now. Love the stick and the space for the hands it has
