MadCatz buys flight sim dev V Max

Peripheral manufacturer MadCatz has acquired the assets of Californian developer V Max Simulation Corporation.

V Max specialises in flight sims and flight sim equipment. The acquisition comes as part of a plan for Mad Catz to expand its Saitek range of sim controllers.

Mad Catz paid $378,000 in cash and $260,000 in stock for V Max's assets, and for the next five years will also hand 5 per cent of all profits from its flight sim business to V Max founder David Kinney.

Kinney also joins Mad Catz as vice president, Flight Simulation.

Said Mad Catz CEO Darren Richardson, "With this acquisition, Mad Catz strengthens and diversifies its Saitek simulation brand and offerings. Saitek is known for its realistic, high-end simulation products and the hiring of David Kinney to develop software and a dedicated community to complement our hardware is the natural next step in our strategy to further leverage the know-how and potential of this brand."

Kinney will head up development of games as well as hardware, plus the creation of a "fight pilot flight community."

Mad Catz generated $150 million in sales for the first nine months of its fiscal 2011, up 62 per cent from the same period the previous year.