Hong Kong – Following the recent announcement of MadCatz’s latest product, the EGO Fightstick, fans quickly uncovered that the new design was simply a rebranded knockoff of an existing cheap arcade stick. When asked why they couldn’t create a new entry in their coveted Tournament Edition series of arcade sticks, MadCatz officials finally broke down and admitted the Tournament Edition series was one big fluke.
When MadCatz started selling gaming peripherals decades ago, they quickly became the official game controller of younger siblings. Their products were widely known for being incredibly low quality and were targeted at confused parents and people who only had $10. But in the late 2000s they released the Tournament Edition arcade stick, an unusually high quality controller that became their first product that people wanted to buy for themselves.
“We don’t know how it happened,” confessed MadCatz spokesperson Darren Long. “For whatever reason when designing the original Tournament Edition arcade sticks, we ended up with a unique product that was comfortable, durable and made with high quality parts.”
“Unfortunately when the company was purchased a few years back, we lost the specifications for Tournament Edition arcade sticks,” explained Long. “Originally we tried to make a TE3 series, but when we put our signature translucent plastic, uncomfortable grips, and unnecessary fans together, we ended up with a stick that shattered within days. That’s why for the new MadCatz EGO Fightstick we simply had to slap a MadCatz logo on some other existing product.”
While it’s not the Tournament Edition that fans had hoped for, MadCatz is still going forward with the new EGO Fightstick. For more information, fans will have to wait until CES where MadCatz will reveal more details, or just check Amazon where virtually the same product is being sold at this very moment.
