Mad Catz bought it, but find out who's teaming up with them to make the new GameShark better...
Fire International Software to Power Mad Catz GameShark Video Game Enhancements
-- Mad Catz to Incorporate Other Technologies From Fire International Into New Leading Edge Products --
SAN DIEGO--Jan. 24, 2003--Mad Catz Interactive, Inc.
(AMEX/TSE:MCZ), the world's leading third party video game accessory
manufacturer, announced today that it has entered into a multi-year
technology agreement with Fire International Ltd. and its related
companies (Fire).
Under terms of the agreement, Mad Catz has secured exclusive North
American rights, as well as non-exclusive rights in many other
countries, to Fire's video game enhancement technology. Financial
terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Mad Catz will implement
Fire's technology in its recently acquired GameShark brand of video
game enhancements.
Pursuant to the agreement, Mad Catz also gained the right of first
refusal to incorporate other Fire technologies into new Mad Catz
products on an exclusive basis in North America and non-exclusively in
many other countries. As reported at the time of its acquisition of
the GameShark brand and the www.gameshark.com web site URL, Mad Catz
anticipates shipping GameShark products with an extensive range of
software cheats and hints in March.
Commenting on the agreement, Darren Richardson, President and COO
of Mad Catz Inc., said, "Fire International, with market leading
intellectual property and technology development and design
capabilities, is an ideal partner to provide us with the elements to
build on the already impressive GameShark platform. We also plan to
incorporate their patented technologies and specialized expertise in
areas such as education and mobile phone gaming, into exciting new
products for North America and abroad, thereby allowing us to expand
our business into new sectors and new territories."
Jason Cooper, Managing Director, Fire International, added
"Working with Mad Catz creates several unique opportunities. First,
marrying our leading edge game enhancement technology with the
industry leading GameShark brand is a win-win situation for both
companies as well as gamers. Second, we look forward to working
closely with Mad Catz and leveraging their industry leading design and
retail relationships to realize the full potential of our technologies
and to bring exciting new products to a broader market than ever
before. Again, we see this as a benefit to both companies as well as
to retailers and consumers."
Morris Perlis, Mad Catz Interactive, President and CEO, added,
"This relationship and the agreement to acquire GameShark are
consistent with our long-term commitment to Mad Catz' corporate and
financial growth. These agreements are both strategic and financial as
they tremendously improve our competitive position, further cement
retail relationships and are expected to contribute to our bottom
line. Strategically this relationship allows us to seamlessly
incorporate Fire's cutting edge technology into our GameShark brand,
and continue delivering to retailers and consumers the quality and
sophistication they expect from GameShark and Mad Catz. This
relationship also makes great financial sense as it enables us to
offer even more new exclusive products to retailers and consumers. The
incorporation of Fire's technologies into new Mad Catz products will
support our goals for margin enhancement and financial growth."