Back in February, Mad Catz’ global PR and communications manager Alex Verrey assured us that stock of the company’s Street Fighter IV FightSticks would be “replenished” through March, April and May. It’s May and many of us are still merely salivating at the thought of purchasing a super sleek Tournament Edition FightStick at a non-bloated, retail price.
We recently caught up with Verrey and received an update on Mad Catz’ quest to put a joystick in the hand of every gamer who wants one. According to Verrey, Mad Catz has shipped new FightSticks over the last three months and will continue to do so in an attempt to meet the “overwhelming” demand for them. However, it appears that at this stage, you’ll still need a pre-order to receive one.
“Yes, more FightSticks have shipped and continue to ship on a monthly basis,” Verrey told us. “The demand is simply overwhelming but I can assure you that new stock will be arriving on a regular basis. “
“More will be available in May but due to the popularity, customers will still probably need to pre-order to guarantee picking one up. We ask for patience at this time, these are complex products that cannot be quickly manufactured but more ARE coming…”
One caveat to what Verrey told us: Best Buy, GameStop, Amazon, and even the GameShark Store are not accepting pre-orders for the FightSticks. In fact, they haven’t since Capcom’s Street Fighter IV hit store shelves.
But, hey, here’s to still hoping Mad Catz sorts all of this out. Zangief’s Ultra is practically impossible to pull off without a good joystick. (Unless you’re some kind of super freak, and yes, we know you’re out there. Somewhere.)
