Mad CatzThe Authentic C.A.T. 7 Wired Game Controller – Black (GCPCCAINBL00)

I needed a controller that worked on PS3 but is shaped and has the layout of a Xbox Controller. I also needed to be able to remap my "A" button so I could grip the controller without having to resort to "claw" gripping it which is very uncomfortable after playing for 4-8 hours (trust me).This controller can very easily remap all the face buttons to the four buttons on the grip itself. This allows you to replicate all the free camera movement of a "claw" grip without any of the uncomfortable side effects (stiff, sore hands).The only down side is although this controller has the necessary hardware for a rumble effect in the grips for some reason the rumble will not work on the PS3 specifically for ACB.So you cannot feel the difference between your approach meter being in the silent kill range or being in the discreate kill range on the meter other then a tell tale sound in the game that warns you that you are in the discreate range and need to slow down to recover your meter back to silent.That is really the only downside I can think of at the moment, I have been using this controller over the last two weeks and I have already noticed a marked improvement in my gameplay.I am now able to much more easily spin the camera independently of what my character is doing to see other players attempting to cut me off so I am now much more aware and able to counter there attempts to cut me off by jumping in a completely unpredictable direction at a moments notice to keep my character alive and in the lead. I have multiple victories vs very high level players thanks to this controller. Of all the controllers I have tried to play ACB with this one seems to be the most useful and effective. I would highly recommend to anyone who wants to get into playing Assassins' Creed Brotherhood Multiplayer competitively.SincerelyNAX PRIME

Working good so far but extra buttons can't be used unless you map them to a regular button. For example you can use a macro button for a or b or x or y or any button of your choice when setting the macro buttons . So if you need additional controls for a game the extra buttons are useless. The controll has start, select , direction pad , two joy sticks, r1 ,r2,l1,l2 and a,b,x,y buttons.Some Buttons light up when turned on and direction pad is 4 separate buttons, so you won't accidentally press the wrong direction. I use this controll for ROM games on my windows laptop. It has features. Light for buttons can be turned on or of at any time . Controller can be switched from x input to direct input. The joystick sensitivity can be adjusted also to your comfort.Also it's not too small for my hands and I think it can suit someone with bigger hands also because I'm adult, 5feet 4inches tall . Comes with USB cable to use. Not rechargeable, so only works when plugged in to computer. Not bad at all. I would recommend.

Absolutely phenomenal controller MadKatz. Everything an avid game breaker such as myself would desire in a controller. The custom world of controllers is currently more than 200 bank breaking dollars for this exact style. I thank you for all of your years of hard work!

I like Madcatz, but they are a hit-or-miss brand. This is a good controller except mine had deadzones in both of the analog sticks immediately when it was brand new. I was shocked because this thing is so expensive

Mine works great but the left trigger failed.The chip seems to be a dud, perfect for troll spamming people too.The Thumb sticks and triggers are perfect tho when the PCB works

Look. I was excited that madcatz was back on the block. The controller is great. Better than expected, although a tad smaller than the Xbox one/360 controller. Very snappy. Needless lighting on the face buttons 😑. But hey it's an awesome controller. But I got it used, for full price (unless somehow I was confused). I'm just disappointed that I wasn't the first to break her in. But at least it's working. I may buy a second, depending on how long this one lasts. Oh, steam recognizes it as a 360 controller. That's fine. All in all, the controller is a 9/10, but I'm skeptical on what I paid for it.

The USB connection is where I think the problem is, the unnecessary one that hooks up into the controller...such a shame, its an awesome product, especially for g*mers who love macros.

I'm a PC gamer through and through, but some games just require controllers to play properly -- especially some of these port-to-PC games that I can finally enjoy! (I really try to use the keyboard/mouse combo first, but sometimes you just NEED that controller.) Mad Catz enjoys a decent reputation, so this seemed a good choice for a controller -- and I'm very, very pleased with it! The controller was extremely easy to plug in and set up, and works like a charm. It's a good hand size, the buttons are nicely spaced and feel good to press, making playing with a controller as physically pleasant as possible. My one not-so-great is the set of buttons on the bottom of the controller. They're metallic, and feel odd compared to the comfort and warmth of the rest of the plastic device. Do I use them, yes. They continually feel a little off, though. I really like how the controller fits in my hands, however, and it's very responsive and works well for all those games where I have to resort to the indignity of a controller. As for the wire -- well, I like wired controllers rather than having to mess with charging and figuring out how to attach a wireless controller to my computer when I play so infrequently with the controller. I can store this one away and get it out and plug it in when I use it without a hassle. I very much like it, and would recommend it for those who place PC games and what a console controller for those games that need it.

Awesome features, but cheap quality in some areasThis controller has some really nice features and looks premium for the price, but some parts feel cheap and seemingly aren’t made to last. In short, I’m planning to return the controller even though I really like the features. Reason is that I noticed drifting in my left stick and the chrome paddles are becoming discolored in less than a month (with mainly weekend play times).===I was looking for a new PC controller as my Xbox One S controller was starting to drift after 5 years of mostly weekend play. I got my Xbox One S controller during a Black Friday, so the price was around $50-$60 CAD if I recall correctly.For my next controller, I was interested in back buttons/paddles because I don’t like pressing down on L3 and R3 in games for actions like running or melee/camera centering. Also, I find the Xbox One S controller shape the most comfortable. The MadCatz C.A.T. 7 fits these criteria.Price:The $80 - $90 asking price of the MadCatz C.A.T. 7 is much more reasonable compared to other controllers like the Elite, Razer, Scuf, or Power A with back paddles. I was able to get mine during a $10 discount which is another factor pushing me to buy it. I was also interested in the 8BitDo Pro 2, but it has been out of stock even as I write this review.First Impressions:The first thing I noticed when I took the MadCatz C.A.T. 7 controller out of the box is that it looks premium at a quick glance but feels cheap in hand. This is because volume to weight ratio wise, it's surprisingly light compared to the PS4 and Xbox One S controller or even some 3rd party controllers. Part of the reason is likely due to no rumble feature nor battery (I knew it didn’t have these features before buying). The shell feels sturdy like the PS4 because it uses screws for the whole case. Therefore, no squeaking when being squeezed like the Xbox controller due to snap in plates. The red MadCatz logo on the bottom right gives it a cheap toy impression due to the way it seems plastered on (you can tell it was painted on top of the casing). On the other hand, the paint isn’t easily being rubbed off.USB:The USB micro cable is braided and feels nice and is about 8 feet in length. I’d be nicer if it was USB C because the direction of the port is reversed/upside down compared to most of my other devices. The controller has a built-in latching USB cable mechanism that helps keep the factory cable attached. This can be a nice feature because the PS4 controller usb port can be loose with certain cable brands. I tried another USB micro cable and it works fine as the size of the indented USB port is larger than most USB micro cable heads.Ergonomics:While the C.A.T. 7 has the same shape as the Xbox controller, I find it a bit less comfortable. Part of the reason is due to the non removable paddles, which I will go into more detail later, though I also noticed that the analog stick and buttons are further from the center compared to the Xbox controller; the left stick and B button are closer to the edge by about 2 mm (see picture comparing all 3 controllers). This might be a personal thing, but I find it less comfortable when my thumb reaches more outwards to press the B button. Reaching towards the center with my thumbs is more comfortable. This is also the reason I don’t like pressing the circle button on the PS4 compared to the B button on the XBox.Standard Buttons:Face buttons (A,B,X,Y) have LED lighting that can be turned on and off. It’d be even cooler if you could adjust the brightness which could have been easily implemented with the config controls. The face buttons are round at the top like the XBox controller, but with a taller cylinder bottom and are a bit stiffer to press. The PS4 controller has flatter face buttons and the height lower (even when compared to the XBox face buttons). My XBox controller doesn’t take much activation force to press down the face buttons, but maybe it’s because it’s more worn in. The activation force on the PS4 is lower too (less stiff to press down). However, since CAT7’s face buttons are stiffer and high, I find it more difficult to slide and press the faces buttons compared to the XBox controller e.g. moving your thumb quickly from A -> B or X -> O. Other than that, the face buttons work great for normal presses despite the higher press force required. One weird quirk is that the ‘B’ button lettering is slightly tilted, it’s even visible in the Amazon listing image.The shoulder buttons on the CAT7 are more similar to the PS4 which can be a good or bad thing. The LB and RB feel better than the hollow ones on the Xbox One and give more feedback. I personally like the LT and RT buttons on the Xbox One over the PS4 and MadCatz as the pressure gradient feels smoother. Of course, the amount of travel on the triggers may not be desirable in some games. The CAT7’s travel is similar to the PS4 hardware wise, but has bigger triggers so it’s actually a bit more comfortable. CAT7 also has software to control travel activation amount in games. Personally, I haven’t used the software trigger control feature much.Extra Buttons:The C.A.T. 7 6 extra “K” buttons that can be remapped to most other buttons. I wish more controllers would implement at least 2 back buttons without the high price. As other reviews have mentioned, K1 and K2 are the only shoulder buttons that are smoothly textured. The activation force on these is even higher than the face buttons. The position of K1 and K2 are actually comfortable, but I have a hard time rapidly hitting these buttons in rapid succession due to the position (fingers reach out pretty far) and stiffness.The K3, K4, K5, and K6 are back paddle buttons. They aren’t removable and are made of plastic despite the metal chrome appearance and texture. The paddles have a spring attached to them and have a tiny bit of squeak to them with the give before activating the paddle switch. There is also a switch on the back to disable all the K paddles.I find the physical paddles actually make the controller less comfortable to hold compared to the XBox controller. Generally, I want to put my ring fingers on the higher K3 and K5 paddles and my pinkies on the K4 and K6. This is so I can have my pointer and middle fingers on the LB/RB and LT/RT. However, I find the higher K3 and K5 buttons dig into the side of my ring fingers in this position (even when I’m not activating the paddles). The top flat edge of the K3 and K5 paddles do not sit flush with the casing which is why I feel pressure on my ring fingers in resting position. If I move my middle finger down to the K3 and K5, then the paddles don’t dig into my middle finger as much.I generally use the bottom bigger paddles K4 and K6 for remapping to the L3 and R3 buttons and rarely use the other K buttons. Ironically, the K3 and K5 buttons that are starting to show wear in the chrome. Maybe it’s the oil from my ring fingers always touching these paddles in resting position as it helps my controller grip. The chrome is starting to wear away revealing a copper/orange hue (see picture). I really wish that Madcatz would go with real aluminum or use normal plastic instead of this fake metal chrome due to how easily it wears out (playing on weekends a little under a month). Also, I think flush buttons would work better then these paddles e.g. (8bitdo style). That way they won’t get in the way as much. The alternative is to make the paddles removable.D-pad:I feel the C.A.T. 7 actually has a better d-pad compared to the PS4! The d-pad is much less mushy compared to the PS4 dualshock. C.A.T. 7’s d-pad is composed of 4 separate buttons (like the Switch) but since they are bigger and closer together (similar shape to PS4) it feels decent for directional control. Software also prevents you from pressing opposite directions (left and right or up and down) at the same time. Amazingly, the d-pad is the same size as the PS4’s. I still feel that the Xbox One d-pad is better as it has nice clicky feedback. C.A.T. 7’s d-pad has a loud click too, but it clicks twice. Once when I press down and once when I release the same direction.Analog Sticks:The sticks have less clearance to the controller’s shell then both the Xbox and PS4 controllers. I also noticed that you can’t make them shift up by pulling on them. This makes me believe that the sticks are glued into the stick’s base so it wouldn’t be easily replaceable. I’d recommend putting a rubber stick cover to prevent wear of the rubber at the top as I don’t think you’ll be able to replace the analog stick.I recently noticed that my left stick is starting to display symptoms of drift. When I press the right direction and leave it back to neutral, the controller axis does not return to 0. Instead it appears to jump between 2 axis values (one of the values is more prominent). To me this seems like the potentiometer is already wearing out. This is a big concern to me since I have been using this controller for less than a month thus far. Changing the stick sensitivity and resetting the controller didn’t help with the issue. Switching the DInput mode seems to prevent it, but most of the applications I use are in XInput mode.Also, I haven’t pressed the L3/R3 buttons on the sticks that much because I use the paddles.I heard that pressing them may accelerate stick drift, but I have pressed these buttons less than 10 times. Still, pressing down on the L3/R3 buttons makes the loudest click compared to the Xbox and PS4. The L3/R3 activation force is similar to Xbox (more force required than the PS4).Configuration and Software:The built-in programming on the CAT7 is pretty good from what you can do in the OLED screen and 2 program buttons. I’m actually fine with everything that can be done without an app or computer for configuration. You can remap the paddles (A, B, X, Y, LB, RB, LT, RT, D-pad, L3, R3 to K1, K2, K3,K4, K5, K6), change stick sensitivity (-10 to 10, affects max position range of axis), the trigger distance (100,75,50,25%), LED lights (on/off only), and controller profiles (Normal, Profile1, Profile2, Marcro1, Macro2). I find the amount of profiles decent, but I wish there was a mode e.g. classic, that allowed the extra K buttons to be real separation input buttons in DInput mode.The Marco profiles are interesting but I don’t really use this feature. You can program the K keys to tap multiple buttons at the same time and even buttons in sequence with a single press. Manual states you have 14 different actions binded to 1 marco. I don’t really use these profiles or macros because I find that the macro taps the keys each action. You can’t hold an action even if there’s only one in a sequence e.g. I can’t set a macro to hold A and B if I hold K3 for instance. Also, I can’t set it to tap A and then hold B. It’s either tap A and B at the same time or tap A and then B.There are also 2 switches on the underside of the controller. One I mentioned earlier was to disable all paddles. Personally, I feel this button is a bit redundant with the Normal profile being available (normal profile technically disables the extra shoulder buttons though). The other switch sets the XInput vs DInput modes. XInput is pretty much Xbox mode and the controller will be considered a “Microsoft X-Box 360 pad”. DInput marks the controller as “MY-POWER CO.,LTD. eclipse C.A.T. 7 gaming controller”. Dinput is used for PS3 mode (note controller does NOT support PS4) and any old game/emulator that doesn’t support XInput.The OLED screen gives decent information when doing configuration, but is always on when the controller is plugged in. The monochromatic white light isn’t eye searing bright but I wonder if there’s a possibility of screen burn in over long periods as it normally shows the static text “GAMEPAD”.Conclusion:As you can see, the Madcatz C.A.T. 7 is a controller with a lot of cool features and looks premium even if you notice the cost cutting taken once the controller is in your hands. I did some research and found that Madcatz had shown the CAT 7, 5 , 3 and 1 controllers at Gamescom 2019. None of the other controllers seem to have made it to market in 2021. Since C.A.T. 7 is the flagship controller for Madcatz, the cheap feeling and missing the rumble feature is a bit disappointing. Despite my return, due to stick drift (seems to be an industry wide problem) and what I consider really early paddle wear. I’d still rate this controller 4 stars due to the features it offers compared to the competition at this price point.

Quality controller for the moneyPros:Great boxingLooks goodGood weightGood buttonsDetachable cable is very convenientCons:The programmable buttons on the back are easy to press accidentally

Pros: Feels right at home with a traditional Xbox controller and has easy to use remappable paddles with no additional software. Really a steal for the price compared to other PC controllers with paddlesCons:- Had to use the LT & RT (L2 & R2 for PlayStation) for my fire and aim buttons because the L1 & R1 / LB and RB do not register when holding it down. It works great for single presses but if you play FPS games like Call of Duty, you're forced to use the longer throw, rear buttons. For some reason when holding down the L1 and R1 buttons the press doesn't register for over 1 second unless you really press the button down hard which is a big con.- If i could change something, I would add the option of removing some of the rear paddles because I really only use the 2 right paddles. But for this price it's not a deal breaker at all, just something to keep in mind.