GameCyte

So now that you've got your shiny new copy of Capcom's "Street Fighter IV," unboxed it and discovered how infuriatingly useless the default Xbox 360 controller is for throwing a decent Dragon Punch, it might occur to you to pick up one of the lovely new Mad Catz FightSticks -- or FightPads -- that have wowed the crowd ever since their CES 2009 debut.

But if you go to GameStop, or Game Crazy, or Best Buy, or Amazon, or even Mad Catz' own GameShark Store today in an attempt to purchase any of the sixteen different wired and wireless SFIV products available across Xbox 360 and PS3, you may be out of luck.

Today, Mad Catz' global communications manager Alex Verrey confirmed that the company's "Street Fighter IV" controllers are completely sold out.

But the FightPads, at least, will be available soon.

"The story is, new pads will be coming in. They will be replenished though March and April," Verrey reassured readers. "Please be patient with us, and don't pay silly prices on eBay. These controllers are not a limited edition, there will be more; they're being made literally right now."

As of this afternoon, eBay traders are selling SFIV FightPads for upwards of $70, a seventy-five percent premium on the $39.99 retail price. 10 Standard Edition FightSticks sold today for over $120 each, with one purchased for $175.

"We don't have anything against e-commerce," Verrey said, "it just upsets us that people are paying ludicrous prices on eBay, because the pads will be in plentiful supply. We're making new ones every week, and we recommend people preorder or check back often at our GameShark store."

Speaking to retail representatives in the San Francisco Bay Area, we were informed that even some preorders may not be fulfilled at the present time. "What happened was, we had more people preorder than Mad Catz was able to create," a Game Crazy employee said. This falls in line with a Destructoid report from late last week.

Interestingly, listings for Mad Catz' SFIV products have disappeared entirely from the GameStop website. GameStop representatives could not be reached for comment by time of publication.

You can read our impressions of the FightStick and FightPad right here.

Update: The PS3 Chun Li Wireless FightPad is still hanging on by a thread at Best Buy. was still available at Best Buy until earlier this evening.

Update 2: Reader Adrian tells us that multiple GameStop stores in Chicago had the FightPad in stock this morning.

Update 3: Mad Catz' Alex Verrey has confirmed that the company will be replenishing the standard edition FightStick, in addition to the FightPad, over the next few months.