One of the Xbox 360’s most popular features is the Xbox Live Arcade, and for good reason thanks to its wide selection of new and old school arcade-style titles available on the cheap. If you’re an avid Live Arcade gamer and are shooting for the full retro experience, Mad Catz has a new controller on the way this holiday season that you’ll definitely want to add to your X-Mas list: the Xbox 360/PC Arcade GameStick (pictured to the right). Alongside the controller, a free Xbox Live Gold trial membership and three top Live Arcade titles — Frogger, Time Pilot and Astropop — will be bundled in to sweeten the deal.
Although no specific date was provided in the press release, the Arcade GameStick, according to its product page, is set to become available in stores and online on December 19th, which will make it a last-minute gift idea if that date holds true. Also unclear is the product’s pricing: in Mad Catz’s official press release an MSRP of $59.99 is provided, but in looking at the controller’s product page it’s listed for $49.99. I’ll see if I can clarify these details and report back if I discover anything new.
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! 
That controller is a tad expensive for being wired. I suppose they’re trying to make up for it with the Gold Live membership and games, but still….