GamingBits: Will the Official Street Fighter IV FightStick be available in the future (March '09) or are there no more plans to produce them?
MadCatz: This is a common misconception. It is indeed true that the original plan was to limit the manufacture of these products to a few thousand units but after it became obvious how strong the demand was, we are now doing everything possible to increase manufacture.
It is our aim to ensure that every gamer who wants a Street Fighter IV Arcade FightStick: Tournament Edition WILL be able to purchase one. Stores will be constantly replenished over the coming months. Though I have no issue with eBay or e-commerce in general, it saddens me that consumers are paying silly money with the belief that this will be their only opportunity to buy. Please be patient and stick with us (No pun intended!).
GamingBits: Could gamers expect the Official Street Fighter IV FightPads to start arriving in stores early next week?
MadCatz: FightPads are already in stores. Like all the products in the range they are proving incredibly popular so are selling out fast. Once again however, more will be coming in the weeks and months to come, please keep checking your local retailer or our webstore at
GameShark® Store - Home (or
Official Store for Mad Catz, Joytech, Airdrives and Saitek products in the UK in the UK).
GamingBits: I've heard from a fairly large retailer and a distributor that the delay was caused to holidays for the Chinese New Year. Might that have been the cause in the shortage?
MadCatz: That's an interesting question. Chinese New Year meant that we couldn't manufacture as many as we would have hoped once it became obvious how high the demand was, however there were many factors in play. As we use genuine Sanwa components, these parts need to be ordered from Japan. This is an exacting piece of commercial grade equipment meaning that it's not fast, cheap or easy to manufacture to the levels we demand. Lastly, it was only when the press started hitting that retail suddenly asked for many more units than they originally planned for. As they have increased their orders so dramatically it has left us working round the clock to try and accommodate. Once again, our message is clear: We apologise for the delay but more are coming and the wait will be worth it!
GamingBits: Is there any additional information you can provide to help out the gaming community in tracking down these Mad Catz Street Fighter IV controllers?
MadCatz: I can only apologise again to all our customers. We appreciate how frustrating this is but want to reassure you all that we really are doing all we can to get more stock into the hands of the gamers. If any reputable stores are willing to take pre orders for the next shipment, we recommend you do so as demand continues to prove incredibly strong. Lastly I advise you all to check our own online store at at
GameShark® Store - Home (US) and
Official Store for Mad Catz, Joytech, Airdrives and Saitek products in the UK (UK) for new stock. As soon as we go live they obviously tend to sell out within hours!
Thanks for your time, we are certain you'll agree that the end product will be well worth it!
video or it didn't happen dus 
