Mad Catz reports lowered earnings in quiet third quarter

Video game accessory maker Mad Catz reported decreased revenues and profits for its fiscal third quarter, citing last year's particularly strong results as the reason for the decline. For the quarter ended December 31, 2011, Mad Catz generated revenues of $46.2 million, compared to $93 million year over year. Meanwhile, profits decreased to $11.2 million, down from $26.4 million. Mad Catz said that revenues were much higher during this period last year, as the company offered numerous game-specific products, and had entered into a third-party distribution agreement, which did not continue into this latest quarter. During that quarter, Mad Catz worked with Harmonix to re-release a full lineup of products for the multiplatform Rock Band 3. In addition, the company released a series of Call of Duty-branded headsets, as well as peripherals such as the Cyborg R.A.T. 9 mouse and a wireless racing wheel for Xbox 360. This year, Mad Catz only debuted DLC bundles for Rock Band 3, and launched other products spanning new headsets, arcade sticks, and gaming mice. It also launched the Xbox 360 game Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge in North America. "While we are not satisfied with these results, we believe a simple comparison between the fiscal third quarter of 2012 and 2011 is not a fully accurate indicator of the company’s direction and prospects," said Mad Catz CEO Darren Richardson. “Three years ago, the company made a strategic decision to shift its focus towards the creation of high-value products for passionate, hard core consumers. This shift has not happened overnight and is still on-going," he added. The company also saw declines during its fiscal second quarter, blaming the decline on unfavorable comparison's to the prior year's Rock Band 3 instrument sales.