mad-catz posts

The Sims franchise continues to grow for publisher Electronic Arts (its latest game, The Sims Medieval, is due out later this month). Today it was revealed that Mad Catz has entered into an agreement with EA where Mad Catz will release PC controllers and accessories with The Sims branding.

Details on exactly what kind of accessories will be released were not reveal, nor when the products will be coming to consumers. We assume that Mad Catz could have PC controllers, keyboards, mice and more with The Sims-based artwork. Mad Catz has previously released similar products for Call of Duty-based games.

Last year peripheral maker Mat Catz launched a line of controllers branded for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 gamers. That included gamepads, mice and keyboards for PC gamers. Today Mad Catz announced a new deal with publisher Activision to make similar products for the upcoming shooter Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Specific products were not revealed today but we can certainly speculate that the line will continue to include PC gaming gamepads along with PC mice and keyboards with Call of Duty: Black Ops logos and branding. The items are expected to be available when the game launches on November 9.

Gaming peripheral maker Mad Catz has made another acquisition after buying PC controller maker Saitek a few years ago. Today the company announced a new deal that has them buying Tritton Technologies. Tritton is well known for their high end gaming PC headsets for the PC and consoles. The company also sells USB-based video products including one that adds multiple displays for PCs and Macs.

The acquisition will cost Mad Catz $1 million in cash up front plus an additional $9 million over the next five years subject to the projected sales of Tritton's various products. The press release states Tritton generated $8 million in revenue in 2009.

A few months ago, the Consumer Electronics Show was trying to promote the fact that their annual massive gadget fest was going to have a bigger PC game presesne for its 2010 edition. Now that CES 2010 is officially over the truth has come out. While there were a few interesting PC game related announcements and reveals, CES won't be replacing E3 or PAX in our minds anytime soon.

Still there were enough interesting hardware gadget announcements and PC gaming reveals this past week that we decided to go back and give our opinions on what was shown at the show. While we didn't attend ourselves our sister sites like Joystiq and Engadget did get a chance to look at a ton of stuff at CES. As you can see there were several hardware reveals, the first public look at a long awaited MMO and a product that, well, we pretty much pegged from the start as a non-starter.

Click on the image above to continue reading PC Gaming at CES 2010

Mad Catz hasn't been known for their PC gaming controllers but they have made some headway in that area ever since their purchase Saitek a couple of years ago. Today at CES they announced plans to launch a all new gaming PC mice line with four different models to choose from.

The new Cyborg R.A.T. line (and no, we don't know what R.A.T. stands for) has products ranging from entry level mice to a high end wireless model with lots of extra features. The mice are expected to be released sometime this spring. You can compare the various models below:

Cyborg R.A.T. 9 Gaming Mouse
Features: Wireless; Fully Adjustable; 5600dpi laser; Programmable; Weight System; Powered by Rechargeable Batteries $129.99
Cyborg R.A.T. 7 Gaming Mouse
Features: Fully Adjustable; 5600dpi laser; Programmable; Weight System; USB powered $99.99
Cyborg R.A.T. 5 Gaming Mouse
Features: Adjustable Length; 4000dpi laser; Programmable; Weight System; USB powered $69.99
Cyborg R.A.T. 3 Gaming Mouse
Features: 3200dpi laser; USB powered $49.99

Update: We've got images of the gaming mice to check out in a new gallery

Last month Mad Catz revealed plans to release new PC gaming mice, controllers and keyboards branded with images from Infinity Ward's upcoming FPS Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Now the company has revealed what these things actually will look like when they ship to stores in November. As you can see above the The Modern Warfare 2 Sniper Mouse will have a way to lower or raise the mouse's weight for the player. It will also have on-the-fly adjustable dpi settings and sell for $49.99.

Check out more images from the keyboards and controller after the jump:

A few weeks ago, Mad Catz announced that they had secured the rights to release a number of gaming peripherals for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Today the company announced details about those products for the upcoming Infinity Ward-Activision first person shooter. They include PC specific products for a gamepad, mouse and two versions of a keyboard.

The Modern Warfare 2 Combat GamePad for the PC is decorated in Modern Warfare 2 artwork and features "four Action Buttons and four Trigger Buttons as well as a stable eight-way D-Pad". While the gamepad is automatically set for Modern Warfare 2 it does come with software that allows gamers to make changes to the four Action Buttons. It will sell for $24.99.

Check out more info after the jump:

A while back Mad Catz bought out the UK based gaming PC controller company Saitek which was best known for their highly advanced flight stick controllers. Mad Catz has continued using the Saitek name for a number of its products and during the Consumer Electronics Show this week they announced a new PC addition to the line-up; the Saitek Cyborg X flight stick.

The new product celebrates the 10th anniversary of Saitek's flight stick brand (hence the "X" in the product name) . It contains a trigger and 11 programmable buttons. Parts of the Cybord X can be folded and detached when not in use which can save space when storing the product. The Cyborg X is expected to ship sometime this quarter for $49.99.

While the Cyborg X is made specifically for PC gaming, Mad Catz has also announced their Saitek Aviator Flight Stick for the Xbox 360 and PS3 are also compatible with the PC.