I wish that I had more time to think this last week, and had more megabytes of internet over the weekend, but that’s not a real excuse for taking almost a full week after the Mad Catz Unveiled event to bring a little bit of news about a new gaming steering wheel to you all!
It is called – and this is quite the mouthful – the Mad Catz Force Feedback Racing Wheel for Xbox One.
I think that about sums up roughly what the wheel is about.; it’s for Xbox One and it has force feedback. Actually it has dual force feedback motors, which might be an indicator of the final price point, which Mad Catz claim will work together in a way that makes this the quietest steering wheel on the market. Quite a hefty claim.
It’s designed quite clearly to be multipurpose, allowing for having the wheel on your lap, or able to  clamp to a stand or desk, whilst the pedals are similarly adjustable. Additionally, there’s a switch on the back to go from 900º mode to 270º mode, from simulation to arcade game.
There’s also the slightly perplexing ability to remove and replace the wheel from the body, which hints at future upgradeability. Perhaps a mock Ferrari F1 wheel, replete with dials and secret buttons which have code names for when you talk over the team radio? Who knows.
The real goal with this wheel right now is to provide a suitable companion for the upcoming Forza 5, and let you turn off as many of the assists as you dare. I actually had a quick blast on Forza 5 on the Gamescom show floor, and quickly found myself coming unstuck with the controller, once I’d turned assists down. I know plenty of people who can deal with sim driving on a controller, but I personally need a wheel.
With the Xbox One and Forza 5 missing a release date, there’s not a peep out of Mad Catz right now as to when this wheel will be released either; that would just give the secret away in an instant. Similarly, pricing was also vaguely described as being somewhere between £90 and £500.
It’s certainly a good looking wheel, with plenty of thought having gone into its myriad of features. This could be something of a must buy for Xbox One owning racing fans.
yiddo
Can you use Xbox 360 wheels for the Xbox One?
cam the man
I’m not sure, but you can use most PS3 wheels on PS4.
freezebug2
That does look like a great wheel/pedal set for the XBO. I think we can forget the lower end £90 price for starters, it’ll be closer to £200. Not taken with the lap mount idea though, your legs will be moving around operating the pedals yet a wheel needs to be pretty firmly mounted for best results!
Stefan L
It’s for crazy fools like THL. :P
freezebug2
Haha, well bang goes my theory then, Tom’s always racing up front!
lambchop
Lap mounted? Yeah, thats gonna work!