Thanks for that response MarkMan, I’m glad to hear that you and others at MadCatz are paying attention to what we do here and are planning accordingly. Considering it’s a 3 year old design, it’s makes sense now. Is a three year window from design to market normal? I’d hate to think that it’ll be 2015 before we see what you are working on now.
awww shucks jdm. im ready…ready to dremel too. lets get it in ppl
Just stopping by to thanks JDM, i can’t thank him enough.
He will ship the stick to me here in Brazil. I’m kinda crazy for buying it since i didn’t sell my previous stick as well and I will have to in order to pay for the new stick, but I’m really trusting MadCatz on this one. It will be my first MCtz stick since I’ve always used Hori. I will just need to find a way to dual mod it.
Thanks man, thanks a lot.
JDM came to OFC last night and brought the VS stick (production #00000001 no less!!!)
I have really got to say its a NICE stick… its just begging to have some lighting inside (cold cathodes mebbe or some really bright LEDs because the plastic is fairly dark)
interesting design too… JDM brought it here completely disassembled and put it together here… once together it feels solid… good weight and nice and wide. the art looks better in person but IMO that really needs to go when two are put together.
Everyone at OFC seemed to like it… it was on our main setup for a couple hours and was used quite a bit
really wished he had 2 to put together! I have been wanted a dual setup for a long time now and I had sold off getting any more plastic sticks but after seeing this I might just get them.
I’d like to think that Mad Catz’s success with the TE model forced Hori to debut new HRAP case styles.
I think they had to considering the basic case design was already 5 years old by the time the Mad Catz TE came onto market.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence personally that the HRAP V3 copies aspects of the first two TE lines.
I also have trouble believing the Noir case was planned 3 years ago, too. (Nice retro-style, IMHO. I’m never going to be able to afford or want to buy an overpriced Sega VSHG and this is a good alternative!)
Obviously, Hori is feeling some heat and pressure to innovate. That’s good!
Prior to Mad Catz coming onto the market, it was difficult to find Hori product in game stores outside of Asia. I was personally only seeing Hori joysticks at a Micro Center computer store in my area… and these were only the lower grade Fight Sticks. You never saw HRAP’s in-stock!
The situation’s changed and you can get both the Mad Catz and latest Hori product at GameStop’s, Amazon.com, NewEgg.com, and other shops.
The competition can only force both companies to renovate/redesign lines occasionally.
I think they should follow the car industry model of changing designs at least every 3 years with the higher-grade joysticks – maybe 4 years for the entire stick lines.
So long as fighting games are developed for the home market and retro-gaming continues to grow, there will be a need for joystick controllers. Joysticks have been the default controller for arcade style games since at least the early 1980s. It wasn’t even until the NES came out that there was a switch to digital pad designs that did away with built-in joysticks until the Dual Shock 1 introduced analog sticks.
Competition’s better for both the casual and hardcore gaming market…
We all have complaints about controller designs, QA issues, and so forth, but I don’t think any of the controller issues have had near the level of hardware issues that one console this past generation has had…
And let me be clear, I like product from both company – there are also product lines I dislike from both --, and while I think Hori is clearly just a bit ahead in terms of QA – and they have been slipping a bit lately in that regard --, I must say that personally I’ve had more problems with joystick installation in Hori cases than I’ve had with the Mad Catz TE’s so far. For some reason, Hori’s factories have occasional trouble making good threads in their mounting plates; at least three of my Hori’s have issues on their faceplate stick mounts. I’ve had to replace screws that got ruined during removal (swapping JLF for Seimitsu, or modding existing equipment) as well as re-drilling and modding at least one faceplate so that I could actually use all four screw positions to secure a new joystick.
No question I’ve had some tight screw positions on 1 or 2 TE stick mounts, too, but nowhere near the curse-inducing issues that I have had on the Hori’s.
GeorgeC, I’d have to say your posts are amongst the ones I always look to/enjoy reading. I know you are a lover/connoisseur of arcade sticks and fine products. So keep up the good work too! I’m sure many people feel this way as well.
ed1371, thanks for the feedback! I’m glad you guys liked it. It means a lot to me knowing that you guys think it’s a good product.
Also, yeah. JDM is the lucky one! If I had known that was the first one off the line, I might have kept it for a giveaway in the future. Well, it just goes to show you how subconsciously SRK TT is the #1 in my heart.
Can I be the lucky one next time?
I totally bought one of these fight stick pedestals the other day. I’ll post pictures of it when I build it. I live in an apartment in Manhattan so this seemed like a good option for me. Was planning on using my VLX Premium on it but maybe I should buy two of those vs sticks.
Will someone post an unboxing vid?
hey markman, will you answer this question?
Hey guys for all the UK based gamers after these i noticed Shopto.net has them up for pre order now as well for £120 
cant wait to pick one of these up still not sure which i like more 
gonna end up with a 360 one then hopefully dual mod it great work madcatz stick looks awesome !
Slope is negative.
Wasn’t this supposed to be sold only by the GameShark store?
Well, it’s all good now since jdm offered to help me out.
Thanks for the kind words, Markman!
I was hoping you didn’t take my remarks the wrong way.
I have to say in all honesty, being a gamer going back over 30 years – and I’m NOT the oldest by far! LOL --, game controllers in general have never been better than they are now. Yes, they’re a bit pricier, but when you adjust for inflation, many times they’re actually a bit cheaper in general than what was sold in the 1980s. No question what we have today is much better than the Atari 2600 joystick controllers or Wico’s famous red ball joysticks. Absolutely no comparison. Your dollar goes much further now game content-wise than in the 1980s. We’re at the point now where we have near-literal supercomputer power on smart phones.
My favorite digital pad is still the Sega Saturn Japanese controller. Favorite general analog pad is now Sony’s Dual Shock 3;I never thought I’d say I liked an official Sony pad. I HATED the official controllers on the PS1 – so frickin’ inaccurate and inputs lagged badly on some games(!) – but Sony picked up their act, the PS2 in general was a dozen times better than the PS1, and I’m glad they improved on that with the PS3. Just wish everybody would stop with the exclusive technology B.S. It hurts consumers to begin with, and I never bought that it improves the bottom-line for either Sony or MS.
Nintendo is so far-gone as hardcore gamers are concerned that I think the Wii U may be their last gasp in the home console market. Being a “party machine” is not enough if the technology and games can’t keep the hardcore gaming crowd interested in your system whether it sells the most units or not. It’s about the software!
As for joysticks, there has never been a better time than now to get them. The quality is so much better than it’s ever been short of owning an arcade cabinet back then. The Internet makes it possible to buy any part you could want so long as you have the money to do so.
The huge choice of replacement PCB’s and adaptors makes it possible to keep those favorite retro-controllers in use for as long as there are parts to support them. You don’t have to sell or junk old controllers if you still like them. There’s probably an electrician/modder with experience in the gaming crowd now who can design tech to support or revive old controllers. And sometimes what these guys put out is better than the official product!
To me, the first time I ever used a Sanwa-equipped arcade stick, it was like a religious experience. The buttons were so much more responsive than what I’d been used to in American arcades or home arcade sticks before. In the end, I decided I don’t care for JLF’s – hate the feel and throw; they don’t “feel” right on CPS-2 games or SNK Neo Geo – but thank goodness for Seimitsu joysticks! I like alternative competition when things don’t quite work out with a product. I think it keeps everybody honest.
I don’t think joysticks will get cheaper for here on out but there are so many more options available now if people just look and ask in the right places that there should be something that fits the individual. Heck, we have disabled people playing now on customized controllers! That should be eye-opening for anybody that says “I just can’t get it” or “I’m not coordinated enough!”
time to get my modder face on so i can mod this baby…super siked
so ummm how long will these be out till they get sold out?..
MarkMan advised they are not a limited run, so I am sure there will be more than just 1 run of these. Should be around for a while, unless they don’t sell any. I would imagine anyways (I’m not employed by MadCatz) lol.
Mine comes today, I will post a short unboxing video on youtube tonight when I get home from work. I’ll post the link in here.
I cant help but notice that a few people have been a bit hesitant about the price
Here in Australia i just paid $300 for this stick, and its always been like this. I remember paying about $250 (plus shipping) for my Round 1 TE.
Not intending to sound rude by any means, just thank your lucky stars you get it as cheap as you do.
Yeah, I paid $200 or so for my VSHG back in the day. I feel this stick is of even higher quality and size. I just ordered mine last night, can’t wait to get it :0 I don’t
see any unboxing vids on youtube yet