Hey, guess what? There’s another major fighting game coming up real soon and, get this, Mad Catz is developing a line of controller accessories for it. I know, big shock.
The fighting game in question is Street Fighter X Tekken, currently projected for a March 6th launch on PS3 and Xbox 360. For the launch, Mad Catz has lined up three tie-in controller options for both console platforms: the Street Fighter X Tekken FightPad SD, the Street Fighter X Tekken Arcade FightStick PRO and the Street Fighter X Tekken Arcade FightStick V.S.
The $40 FightPad SD is the cheapest option of the bunch, a wireless, ‘super deformed’ controller available in four artwork theme options. There’s Ryu & Ken V.S. Kazuya & Nina, Chun-Li & Cammy V.S. Julia & Bob, Poison & Hugo V.S. King & Marduk, and Sagat & Dhalsim V.S. Hwoarang & Steve. (Mad Catz, I forgive you for leaving out my main man Paul Phoenix.) The new FightPad SD is 15% smaller than the original FightPad model but maintains the unique elongated form factor, the circular 8-way floating D-Pad and the oversized six-button layout. Separate Turbo settings can also be programmed for each button. I’m totally getting one!
The next step up from the FightPad SD are the two arcade-authentic fighting sticks. The FightStick PRO is priced at $160 and the FightStick V.S. is $200, both featuring genuine Sanwa Denshi arcade components for high-end quality.
Looking over the design features, I sure can’t figure out what makes the V.S. model more expensive than the PRO model. Seems like they have the same components, just different artwork. The only difference appears to be the V.S. model’s dual play tournament configuration, which gives it the ability to link up directly with another V.S. stick for a true in-home multiplayer arcade experience. But is that really a feature worth paying that much more for? So you pay $40 extra so you can then spend $200 for another stick to hook it to (not counting the $20 connector kit that has to be purchased separately)? Doesn’t sound like that great of a deal to me, unless I’ve overlooked some other special feature the V.S. has to offer. If anyone has more experience with these arcade sticks, please correct me if I’ve missed something.
Mad Catz’s Street Fighter X Tekken controllers are currently available for pre-order in the U.S. and Canada and are schedule to release in time with the game’s launch. Read more about the controllers at www.madcatz.com/SFXTekken.
Matt Litten is the full-time editor and owner of VGBlogger.com. He is responsible for maintaining the day to day operation of the site, editing all staff content before it is published, and contributing regular news, reviews, previews and other articles.
Matt landed his first gig in the video game review business writing for the now-defunct website BonusStage.com. After the sad and untimely close of BonusStage, the former staff went on to found VGBlogger.com. After a short stint as US Site Manager for AceGamez, Matt assumed full ownership over VGBlogger, and to this day he is dedicated to making it one of the top video game blogs in all the blogosphere.
Matt is a fair-minded reviewer and lover of games of all platforms and types, big or small, hyped or niche, big-budget or indie. But that doesn't mean he will let poor games slide without a good thrashing when necessary! 
