Skip to main content

Try a free month of being a Eurogamer Supporter

Get ad-free browsing and exclusive content. Use code "EGMay24" at checkout.

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Mad Catz paid not to make Guitar Hero

Was intended for PS2 and Xbox.

Dark blue icons of video game controllers on a light blue background
Image credit: Eurogamer

Mad Catz has revealed the reason Guitar Hero began solely on PS2.

The peripheral maker had been commissioned to make a sister Xbox version, but paid $300,000 to abandon the deal after Konami's legal team came sniffing.

"Guitar Hero was a game that we were actually involved with early on and pulled out because of a lawsuit with Konami," Mad Catz boss Darren Richardson told Kotaku.

"We were doing the Xbox SKU and that's why there was only a PlayStation 2 launch. That's why. We were in there and we pulled out as a result of [the lawsuit] and [Red Octane and Harmonix] went forward and it turned out to be a success, a huge success."

"Everyone else made hundreds of millions and we paid money to not be a part of it. It was brilliant," he added. "I come up with these strokes of genius from time to time. That was my best."

Mad Catz makes a name for itself crafting arcade-style fight sticks for Capcom's fighting games, such as Street Fighter IV and Capcom vs Tatsunoko. The company also unveiled a raft of products at January's CES 2010 last week - details of which can be found on the Mad Catz website.

Read this next