Gaming accessory manufacturer Mad Catz has filed for bankruptcy in the United States, ending its 28-year-long history.
The San Diego-based firm had been suffering financial problems for years. As of March 30, the company officially shut down and began the process of selling its assets.
Mad Catz has filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in which assets are sold to pay off debts. This suggests that the company doesn’t intend to reform or find a buyer to continue trading somehow. Don’t go expecting a white knight to jump in and save the day.
The death of Mad Catz doesn’t come as a surprise. Back in 2015, the company told investors that its stability depended on Rock Band 4‘s success as it had co-designed and produced the instruments for the game. Rock Band 4 went on to experience poor sales, further entrenching the company’s financial woes.
After the failure of Rock Band 4, the company’s prognosis only declined. In February 2016, the company’s chairman and CEO both resigned and almost 37% of its staff were made redundant.
Parts of the business clearly weren’t working properly. Back in 2007, Mad Catz purchased Saitek, a company known for its flight sticks and selection of other peripherals, for around £15 million. Saitek was then sold by Mad Catz to Logitech last year for £13m, a depreciation in value of £2m.
It’s a shame to see a long-time hardware manufacturer disappear, especially one like Mad Catz which produced some truly outlandish designs over the years.
But in a competitive market where Microsoft is offering its own high-end controller and the general quality of the standard PlayStation and Xbox gamepads has gone up, Mad Catz would have faced even more challenging times ahead.
