Riding high on the success of its specially designed arcade sticks and fightpads for Street Fighter IV and Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, as well as its recent line of instruments for Rock Band 3, peripheral manufacturer Mad Catz has decided to not only support existing games with specialty hardware, but to begin making new games, as well. Mad Catz announced its entry today into proper software development with the formation of ThunderHawk Studios, and also revealed the company is currently at work on a new MMO.
My ivories got tone!What kind of MMO does a developer owned by a peripheral manufacture make? A flight simulation, of course.
No prizes for guessing if Mad Catz develops a series of flight joysticks for use with ThunderHawk's new game; Mad Catz also owns European hardware manufacturer Saitek, which produces a series of high end flight sticks and flight stick accouterment so specific and detailed that it really puts that Racing Wheel purchase into perspective.
Mad Catz' new software development turn seems to follow in the footsteps of RedOctane, a similar hardware manufacturer behind high quality dance pads and rhythm hardware before the company produced the original Guitar Hero back in 2005. RedOctane's breakthrough title also played directly into the company's hardware expertise with its plastic instrument-enhanced gameplay. It's easy to imagine that Mad Catz' entry into software development could similarly be viewed as a way to sell expensive peripherals as ideal (or even required) attachments on top of traditional software sales. The bottom line is that Mad Catz may not be the craziest business decision you hear today...which, in and of itself, is super crazy.
Mad Catz says ThunderHawk's flight sim MMO is on track for release in 2012, which should give you plenty of time to figure out how to play a flight sim with the Rock Band keyboard.
