MadCatz SFIV SE FightStick Defects & Horror Stories
The internet has been abuzz with stories of broken Street Figher IV standard edition (SE) FightSticks. The problem was first reported on February 13th on the Shoryuken.com forums, a popular site for fighting game aficionados.
Released officially on February 17th in limited quantity, gamers counted themselves lucky to even score a stick. Those that did, brought their happy find back home, only to discover hours into playing their stick exhibited odd behavior, to the point of not being playable. Users reported that the controller stopped registering directional inputs or button presses, made grinding noises, or even had a "stuck" joystick. The problem was attributed to a loose metal washer scraping the printed circuit board (PCB).
Mad Catz has acknowledged the problem and are advising costumers to visit this link for repairs. They can be reached by the toll-free number 1-800-659-2287 or at techsupport@madcatz.com. They are offering free FedEx shipping labels for customers who wish to send in their sticks for repair. Realistically, the time to ship out the sticks, get them fixed, and shipped back might take a few weeks. So if you are a day-one purchaser who absolutely has to play the game with the official sticks, you'll have to endure the wait.
If you're planning to return the sticks to the store, be aware there has been reports that GameStop will not accept returns on this product and will ask you to contact Mad Catz directly. But getting in touch with them might not be so easy. As noted by a Shoryuken forum poster, "I called the 1-800 # 4-5 times and it just told me they were busy and I could leave a message... Calling the non-toll-free # gave me a 45 minute wait."
One possible do-it-yourself fix is to open up the stick (which voids your warranty), isolate the faulty metal washer, and glue it to the PCB; or replace it outright with a rubber washer. If problems persist, the SE sticks can be fully modified with a different joystick and buttons. Modding the stick with arcade quality Sanwa parts will bring users as close as possible to a real arcade experience, but will cost them another $50 or $60 plus time and labor, not to mention technical know-how. And for a product that retails for $79.99 plus tax, it should be expected to work out of the box, without another hefty investment.
Mad Catz Global PR & Communications Manager, Alex Verrey, responded in an interview with 1UP.com that the number of complaints they've received is "well under 50 to date." Perhaps a shocking testament to the contrary, the FightStick Defect thread on the Shoryuken forums has grown to 19 pages with over 450 replies and 40,000 page views. The problem may be more wide-spread than Mad Catz would like to admit.
For a company like Mad Catz that has been vying to turn around their negative consumer perception, it seems odd why so little attention was given by the Quality Assurance Department to ensure their much vaunted FightSticks not only meet but exceed customer expectations. With this critical misstep, Mad Catz will have an even tougher time with changing their image as a company that manufactures cheap, inferior product with no regard for quality. How true their convictions are to quality will be measured by how well and how quickly they rectify customer complaints during the rocky launch of the Street Fighter FightSticks.
The official statement from MadCatz is published below:
My name is Alex Verrey, Global PR & Communications Manager for Mad Catz.
In recent days, there have been reports of quality issues surrounding our Street Fighter IV range of products, largely focused on our standard edition Arcade FightStick.
Mad Catz is committed to providing quality products and we fully stand behind our product warranty. We are very proud of this range which has been met with overwhelming critical enthusiasm. We also wish to be honest and transparent with the gaming community. We are here to help and will not shy away from our responsibility thus, after investigating the issues mentioned on blogs, websites and forums, we would like to take this opportunity to relay our official position:
1. Some customers have reported issues with their standard edition Arcade FightStick. A very small amount of users have experience problems with the sticks responsiveness. Please note that this issue does NOT happen on each Arcade FightStick and has been reported on a small number of units. The issue is due to a metal washer shifting out of place and is easily rectified. The issue and the resulting fix have been extensively documented on several forums. However, to avoid voiding your warranty, we recommend contacting Mad Catz technical support who will be happy to assist. Mad Catz is committed to fixing all sticks that exhibit this issue. Our contact information lies below.
2. Some customers have reported scratches on the top of their Tournament Edition. This could have occurred during the pack-out portion of the manufacturing process. It is not the result of recycling old or used parts or the result of any kind of rushed manufacturing process. Mad Catz would never do such a thing. Mad Catz will replace tops with serious scratches caused by the manufacturing pack-out process. Again, in the highly unlikely occurrence of your Tournament Edition Arcade FightStick exhibiting serious scratches, please contact us and we will be happy to assist.
Mad Catz recognizes the enormous trust the Street Fighter community has placed in us. We want to make you aware of the known issues and our plans to remedy the situation. For all of the issues listed above, we encourage you to contact Mad Catz customer support by phone or email (see below). Your local retailer will not be able to repair or provide replacement parts. We have asked our retailers to direct you back to us for warranty repair and service. We would like to stress again that we believe this is a limited and isolated issue that may affect a small number of sticks.
When you call, Mad Catz support agents will diagnose the problem over the phone and based on their diagnosis, they will work with you to solve the problem including providing free shipping and repair. Please note all support agents are based in California (USA) or in Bristol (UK) and are die hard gamers that want to help you. Our contact info is as follows:
USA:
Tech Phone: 1-619-683-9830 ext. 3799
Toll Free (USA): 1-800-659-2287
Email: techsupport@madcatz.com
Web: www.madcatz.com (select support menu option)
Support Hours:
Monday - Friday: 8am - 4pm (PST)
Closed Saturday, Sunday and most major US holidays
UK/Europe:
Europe Support Number - 01454 451900 (UK Only 0845 050 8428)
E-Mail Address - mczsupport@saitek.com
Support Hours - 9 - 4.30pm Monday - Friday
Last, the Standard Edition and Tournament Edition Arcade FightSticks feature a 'Turbo' function which we specifically tested on beta/pre-release versions of Street Fighter IV and the retail release.
They perform as documented in the user guide and there are no known issues. If however, you should identify a game not compatible with our Turbo function, please email tech support (techsupport@madcatz.com) and we will investigate the issue. Currently, we are investigating reports of an issue with the Turbo function on the PS3 versions of both the standard and Tournament Edition Arcade FightSticks when playing Street Fighter HD Remix. As we learn more, we will post more information in an FAQ on our support site.
Mad Catz welcomes all constructive feedback and comments. Your feedback will help us make better products and identify unknown issues. For those of you that do not have any problem, enjoy the sticks. Those that have issues, call us. We want to fix the problem. Thank you for your time.
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