VB Mobile Log In  |  Register          
Advertisement
VB Resources
Subscribe to VB Magazine

Mad Catz branches out beyond controllers

New software turns PS2 into home networking center.

By David S. Cohen -- Video Business, 8/21/2003

AUG. 21 | Mad Catz Interactive is broadening its product line, bringing out home networking software and a portable LCD screen to go with its leading third-party lineup of videogame peripherals.

In its first foray into home entertainment, Mad Catz is introducing the GameShark Media Player, which allows PlayStation 2 consoles on a home network to play content including music, photos and movies stored on the hard drive of a computer in another room.

The GameShark Media Player, using technology licensed from independent software company BroadQ, turns a PS2 console into a controller and viewer for a remote home PC. One disc in the two-CD package turns the home PC into a file-server, which can send compressed entertainment content through a home network. The other disc enables the PS2 console to decode the compressed files and play them on a TV, so consumers can watch PC-based movies, listen to MP3s or view digital photos on a living room TV.

The software, priced at about $50, can power multiple PCs and multiple PS2s on the same network, but each PS2 requires its own software disc. Mad Catz representatives said the software will work only via a local-area network, so user cannot view content on a computer via the Internet.

The software will be sold in videogame stores and consumer electronics outlets, executives said.

The 7-inch Universal LCD Travel Display--a portable TFT LCD screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio, priced at $200--turns a game console into a game station. The screen comes with a clamp for mounting on a table, desk or inside a car.

MadCatz's fall offerings also include several new videogame controllers: the LumiCon is a full-featured controller with vibration motors that feature internal LED illumination for gamers who like to play in the dark. The MiniCon is a smaller controller, keeping the full features of larger controllers. The RetroCon is a compact controller in the style of early game machines, incorporating contemporary features.

In software, GameShark SP for Game Boy Advance SP comes with more than 4,000 codes for more than 185 games, with 10,000 codes downloadable from GameShark.com. With USB links to a PC, GameShark SP permits gamers to store thousands of codes and game saves on their PC drive. GameShark GameSaves software for PS2, Xbox and GameCube comes preloaded with thousands of game saves, permitting gamers to store their own saves or download saves from the Internet.

Early this year, Mad Catz acquired the GameShark brand, GameShark.com and related intellectual property for $5.1 million.

Talkback

We would love your feedback!

Post a comment

» VIEW ALL TALKBACK THREADS

Related Content

Related Content

 

By This Author

Sponsored Links



 
Advertisement

MOST POPULAR PAGES

More Content

  • Blogs
  • Photos

Blogs

  • Samantha Clark
    DISC DISH

    November 5, 2009
    Final Destination 3D DVD, Blu-ray
    The new year will start in horror is Warner has anything to do with it. The studio will bow The Fina...
    More
  • Susanne Ault
    BLU STATE

    October 29, 2009
    Rumor of the Week: Blu-ray Wii!
    To me, this would be nothing short of rad. Or at least rad for Blu-ray adoption. The most ...
    More
  • » VIEW ALL BLOGS RSS

Photos

  • 50 Dead Men walking
    Phase 4 Films execs and 50 Dead Men Walking star Jim Sturgess visited with distributor VPD recently.
  • Fans for Fight Club
    Fox held a screening of Fight Club for 200 fans in Los Angeles on Nov. 17 to celebrate the film’s 10th anniversary. David Fincher’s 1999 film starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton is now available on Blu-ray.
  • Costello spectacle
    To promote MVD’s DVD and Blu-ray release of Spectacle: Elvis Costello With...: Season One, singer-songwriter Elvis Costello made an in-store appearance at New York City’s Barnes & Noble on Nov. 17.
Advertisements





NEWSLETTERS
VB Daily News
VB Indie Film Guide
VB Weekly Summary
VB Just Announced
VB Green Report
Please read our Privacy Policy
©2009 Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Use of this Web site is subject to its Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
Please visit these other Reed Business sites