Mad Catz Interactive Files For Bankruptcy, Ceases Operations

Mad Catz Interactive announced that it filed for bankruptcy, ceased operations at its wholly-owned Mad Catz subsidiary, and saw its board of directors resign on March 30. The company also said that all of its other subsidiaries "have filed or will file for liquidation under comparable legislation in their countries of origin." Assets will be sold off to cover any debts and, once the bankruptcy process is finished, Mad Catz Interactive will be no more.

The news doesn't come as much of a surprise. Mad Catz Interactive announced on March 23 that the New York Stock Exchange decided to delist it and suspend trading of its common stock because of an "abnormally low trading price." It was essentially booted from one of the world's most prominent stock exchanges because investors didn't value the company highly enough to keep its stock price at what the NYSE considers an acceptable level.

Being removed from the NYSE was just the final nail in Mad Catz Interactive's coffin. The company said in today's announcement that it formed a special committee in 2016 to explore other options, such as selling off all or part of its business, to "maximize shareholder value." Selling its Saitek flight simulator peripheral business to Logitech in September 2016 probably helped with that goal, but it clearly wasn't enough to save the company.

Here's what Mad Catz Interactive CEO Karen McGinnis said about the bankruptcy filing in today's announcement:

“Regrettably and notwithstanding that for a significant amount of time the Company has been actively pursuing its strategic alternatives, including various near term financing alternatives such as bank financing and equity infusions, as well as potential sales of certain assets of the Company or a sale of the Company in its entirety, the Company has been unable to find a satisfactory solution to its cash liquidity problems. The Board of Directors and management would like to acknowledge the outstanding efforts of the Company’s employees in support of its business, especially during the time that the Company faced financial difficulties. The Company would also like to thank the vendors and professional service providers who have supported the Company’s efforts during this time.”

Mad Catz most recently made controllers, mice, keyboards, and other gaming-related peripherals. It was also responsible for the instruments used by Harmonix's Rock Band series until the developer switched to Performance Designed Products in March 2016. (Not that Harmonix, which has reportedly laid off at least 24 people this year, seems any better off.) Mad Catz Interactive was also responsible for the Tritton line of headsets and headphones.

The company didn't say if drivers for its peripherals will remain available for the foreseeable future, or how it plans to notify customers whose products might still be under warranty about its shutdown. The PricewaterhouseCoopers professional services firm has been named the trustee in bankruptcy of the Mad Catz Interactive estate.

Nathaniel Mott
Freelance News & Features Writer

Nathaniel Mott is a freelance news and features writer for Tom's Hardware US, covering breaking news, security, and the silliest aspects of the tech industry.

  • The Paladin
    yikes and I almost Bought Triton Headphones today... glad I did not.
    Reply
  • bloodroses
    It doesn't surprise me since they've been struggling for a while. In every segment they were involved with, they've faced stiff (and almost always better) competition. Their best line of devices IMO was their arcade fight sticks; a niche market that Hori and Qanba did better.
    Reply
  • dstarr3
    Well, that's a shame. But to be honest, it was never a brand I associated with quality. I assume I'm not the only one and that must have a lot to do with their downfall.
    Reply
  • Dagz45
    they were the company that if my kids were having a sleepover, and didn't have enough controllers, id run to the store and buy one theirs. Usually cheap and I didn't care if they go damaged. But I feel bad for everyone losing jobs.
    Reply
  • torka
    Finally! My childhood is haunted with times when there weren't enough real N64 controllers to go around and I got stuck with the MadCatz.

    They were always cheap, and never quality. In my experience, they were a detriment to the joy of playing games.
    Reply
  • I never liked any of their products. The controllers, mice, were pretty much junk, ugly, and overpriced (for what they were). You can only go so long making products no one wants. Reading the comments, I see I'm not the only one. I wasn't familiar with their arcade joysticks.
    Reply
  • synphul
    Never really a fan, they were always the cheap knock offs for gaming stations. Not sure how they were in more recent years but that's always what I've associated them with. Reputations as being the cheapo option tend to stick. Thankfully Logitech bought Saitek before MC decided to crash and burn.
    Reply
  • MusenMouse
    I think the only product of Mad Catz I ever bought was one of their GameCube memory sticks. It was one of those ones with 32 times the normal memory which was a god send back then. Wonder if it still works?
    Reply
  • falchard
    Tried their products. A R.A.T. 7 and Eclipse III. Replaced the Eclipse III 3 times before I just gave up on it. The R.A.T. felt cheap with a couple annoying design issues. It's unfortunate because I had great luck with the Saitek Eclipse and Eclipse II when they were not owned by Mad Catz. A failure rate of 3 out of 4 is completely unacceptable to me and I never bought another one of their products.
    Reply
  • knowom
    Madcats Tournament Edition Fightsticks are top notch build quality as they use Sanwa buttons and joystick which premium pro grade parts. In general Hori and Seimitis sticks and button are of a bit lesser quality though Seimitis's short throw sticks are actually ideal for Shmup's however you can modify a Sanwa stick to actually be even better quality.
    Reply