WHERE ARE YOU VIKING ????????????????

JIM WALKER

Active Member
Getting more than a little concerned,
Firstly, I started a ticket 3 weeks ago and have heard nothing and no response at all.
Secondly, have not seen any kind of post ,response or news update from Viking here on the forums for a considerable time.
Viking, please shout back, let us know all is well, post or pm me, please.
 

WHITE 4ND N3RDY

ModdingBros Representative
I feel u Jim. I check up what's going on here one a week. It sucks that these forums have just died so sudden. I'm not much help these days and can't afford all the new gadgets but I just hate to see this community die out. Viking is my first home and u don't forget your roots. Its strange as well because Odin would always pop in on the weekends and shine in on stuff. The market is just saturated and isn't what it once was and will probably never be again. Sad really.
 

Deadmaxx

New Member
I've been meaning to hear from him as well. I sent him some of my 3D printed paddles to check out and see what he thought of them, and I that was back in May. Haven't heard from him at all. Hope nothing bad happened?
 

Storm

Member
I know that I have not posted anything on these forums in a very long time. I too have noticed a severe decline in not only members but in members posting anything. For me as an observation, the height of theses forums was when the Xbox 360 and the PS3 had the Black Ops or Modern Warfare series in full gear. Everyone here wanted the newest, latest and greatest in rapid fire macros, jitter mods and aim assists. I fully admit that I was always eager to see what Jet, White and N3rdy, Matt and Bonefisher (To name only a few) would come up with during the weekends. I don't believe I have seen Odin post anything either in a very long time. I know that once the Xbox One and the PS4 came out, there was going to be a truck load of us looking for the new controllers and the new modding program. I have only seen a limited amount of members posting any new rune packages when compared to the original macro .vks mods.

I don't have any real solutions that could drive members back to these forums or new potential members for that matter. Viking has in my opinion always been the king of the modified controller industry. Now I know that is fully contradictory to what the search engines would tell you. I wish to see this site thrive again as it once did and for everyone to come back. But alas I am thinking along the lines of White and Nerdy at this point.
 

modded matt

Active Member
This market is done. We have all lost money on the next gen consoles.

What people dont understand or care is that the Berserker has twice as much tech and RND than any other controller on the market. It was never intended to come with a mod pack for each game, the intent was for gamers to do their own mod packs to suit their needs. That back fired because kids are lazy and want everything done for them. There are shops out there that offer lifetime updates, but with Viking, there is no need. with the software and hardware in the controller, you dont need an update you simply modify your rune.
 
I've been with Viking since 2011 maybe. I've went through two macro controllers one Berserker and I'm getting another one for HW2. In all that time I've made maybe 4 or 5 macros. You're right. I'm lazy and don't take the time to figure out the software. However for me, the decline with Viking started when Jets got fired. He was on everyday almost twenty four seven helping members and making macros, but then Viking didn't have enough money to pay him. So Bonefisher and White started making macros and it helped for awhile, but now nobody is making macros and the community has stagnated. Maybe because it is filled with leechers like me.

It got so bad that I started looking for another product, however I was unsuccessful. I could not find another modded controller as good as this.
 

modded matt

Active Member
Jets was a member just like the rest of us. He was not paid. neither are any of us. WE may be rewarded with some free chips or discounts...
 

sajin4

New Member
Hi guys, can someone please help me. I recently went to purchase a controller but there was a glitch and wouldnt allow me to buy it. So i went onto the forums and found alot of people are buying controllers, not recieving them, starting tickets and not getting replies. I was wondering if this issue has been resolved yet because i would like to buy one asap. Thanks for your help
 

Storm

Member
Sajin4, I cannot comment as to what happened with your purchase attempt. I am sure that Admin is going to resolve the issues that they might be having with that. Not to worry, Viking is always going to be here for us.

Matt, I wanted to take a moment and reply to you and your response/position on of the market. I have been with the Viking community for a few years now. Like Purple Essence has stated we both probably used more than we ever contributed as far as making Macro's to use rather than extensively testing for our own purposes.

I understand your position and take on the Berserker controller, it does have more power and better fine tuning abilities than the Macro ever had or could have had. However, when I purchased my first of three macro controllers there was an extensive game library that everyone could go to and get Macro's that were designed by our fellow members for others to use and that library had multiple games, not just for COD or MW. The library stopped being updated with different Macro's toward the end of the COD. I know you said that kids are lazy, heck I agree completely. Instant gratification seems to be the lay of the land right now. Everyone that has the new Berserker controller have made runes for themselves, and from what I have noticed they don't for their own reason's share them with our community anymore. That's fine with me, I understand and have no complaints, people should take the time and try to figure out how to use the new software and stop relying so much on others. Necessity is the mother of all inventions!!!!!!

My opinion and only my opinion is that Viking can again rise to the top visually (we are already there mechanically) by making a few changes maybe. Everyone wants rapid this jitter that.... What if we (and by we meaning those that have the new Berserker) put out there some generic forms of those mods that we all used to have and love. I am not saying give out your secret recipes (unless you wanted to) but generics. Another way is for someone to make the Youtube video's again like we had in the past. (Not saying we don't but...) But get the Viking Berserker out in the spot light, get traffic to the site. Show what it can do and not just for one game but for a bunch of them.

These are merely my opinions and ideas solely. If I am wrong about this or that it's cool, I just wanted to throw out some ideas and maybe fixes.
 
Jets was a member just like the rest of us. He was not paid. neither are any of us. WE may be rewarded with some free chips or discounts...
Yeah, I forget. Something about we couldn't afford to pay him so that's how I got mixed up.
My opinion and only my opinion is that Viking can again rise to the top visually (we are already there mechanically) by making a few changes maybe. Everyone wants rapid this jitter that.... What if we (and by we meaning those that have the new Berserker) put out there some generic forms of those mods that we all used to have and love. I am not saying give out your secret recipes (unless you wanted to) but generics. Another way is for someone to make the Youtube video's again like we had in the past. (Not saying we don't but...) But get the Viking Berserker out in the spot light, get traffic to the site. Show what it can do and not just for one game but for a bunch of them.

These are merely my opinions and ideas solely. If I am wrong about this or that it's cool, I just wanted to throw out some ideas and maybe fixes.
It's kind of sad really. Our community has been abandoned. Every day our posts get fewer and fewer. Viking gets no views on YouTube.
 

WHITE 4ND N3RDY

ModdingBros Representative
I've been here a long time and I was Origionally inspired by members like mj23kb24, red soxs ect. They started modding bros and allowed me in, ever since then I pledged my elegance to Viking. I have since moved on to other forums such as acidmods, then cronusmax and now srk. I try to stay involved though I'm much older now, marred and starting a family. So my time is scarce and so is cash. I wish I had a beserker controller to contribute. All is old members have moved on just like bonefisher. I love the guy and he is just amazing at what he does. He's like a ninja. He has been with Viking before me and layer dormante for a long time. He I can honestly say is probably the most experienced mod maker ever. People can say there's on going completion with me and him but he has drive and is still going. Me I'm really done / retired from it all but bonefisher never seist to amaze me. Anyways enough background and to Viking. Viking needs some big push to survive. The age of chiped modded controllers have died. Its all about usb sticks with cross compatibility with the price of a origional controller. The berserkwr is a amazing thing and it sadens me to see the way things have gone. I love microchips, sodering and building electrintics using microchips, but things have changed. Viking has always been ahead of the curve but that's played its downfall. Others have taken from Viking and builder around it. Then when Viking did the paddle remake the elite controller dropped. Talk about a kick to the teeth. Oden has always been ahead of the curve. Project Valhalla was the blue print to the macro co,trolled which was revolutionary. Honestly I don't think Viking has the money to do so but if they did they would have to go usb and cross compatibility route. Every other co,pang have just been crushed by this. Its sad to say but the days of soldering, sweating and bleeding modding controllers have ended. I wish things could go back to which it was but it will never be like it was in its gay days! So I'll just shut up and get back to my 85th beer and shut up now and enjoy the ride!
 

Storm

Member
Hey white, love the post. (me too, shhhhh)

I gotta tell ya and everyone here in the forums as well I have a cronusmax plus as well. I don't care what rapid scripts you can get from their site or others trying to make a script for you they are not as fast as what we have with the Macro controller. I am not going to be hypocritical here, I use both, I take and use their setup as well as the Macro controller from Viking. I use their aim assist over the one that Bone made. His wont let you lie down in the prone without it doing some weird gun movements.

Outside of that Vikings Controllers are the top. I cannot speak to the Berserker because I don't have one, and the one I want is out of stock. I know that you are retired/done because of life and family or simply because you moved on, I wish you the best like I did Bone and the rest of the old guard. I only hope that someone can show on youtube just how much better our Macro and the Berserker really are compared to the Cronus and other such devices.

IF my Viking Macro Controller every dies on me.... (God I hope not) I can only hope that Odin and the rest will have replacements out there for us.
 

sajin4

New Member
Hey all good in the end. Tried ordering again and the issue had been sorted. I now have my controller so all good :) now i have to figure out how to use it, aaaaaa
 

Storm

Member
Glad to hear it all worked out in the end. That is why I'm still here, Viking has and always will continue to take care of our controller needs. :)
 

odingalt

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Hey Jim. I think you still needed us to send you some spart parts?

To everybody else. Since the last time I logged into the forums:

-XBOX One released yet another circuit revision to contend with, XBOX One S.
-PS4 also released yet another circuit board revision, the PS4 Slim/PS4 Pro controller (the one with the little strip light bar near the touch pad)
-Our last soldering technician is officially gone. We are down to 1 full time staff, he focuses solely on running our PCB assembly line for http://wholesale.vikingdigital.com Wholesale makes money and retail doesn't.
-Viking retail web traffic is now at approximately 50 visitors per day, and it's mostly web search enginer crawler bots (very few humans).
-Huge players, huge money, and huge marketing have entered our market (Scuf/Microsoft controller licensing deal, Microsoft controller lab, Sony Elite controller rumors, Activision buys MLG, etc.)
-Hydro dip is passe, mod shops are now expected to employ professional airbrush artists and only build custom one-off's for each customer
-And the biggest thing that's changed since I last logged in: I got a big promotion at my day job.

When I started Viking back in 2009 I wasn't making very good money at my day job, I wasn't married, I didn't have two kids, and I really loved electronics and gaming, there wasn't much competition and it was (relatively) easy to physically modify controllers. Fast forward and it's 2016: I am making good money at my day job, I am married, I have two kids, and it's nearly impossible to mod these controllers (it really feels like they do things to try to make physical modding more difficult).

I think it's safe to say Viking retail is dead and we currently have no plans to build or sell any new Berserker controllers in the near future. Viking Retail hadn't turned a profit since March of 2013. The 360 Macro library, Berserker/Forge, forums, etc. will all stay up as they are today. I'll continue paying the rent on our web server for the foreseeable future, so long as Viking wholesale continues to turn a profit.

Questions?
 

JIM WALKER

Active Member
I am extremely sad right now, and yet very very happy at your promotion.

Yes, I was hoping to get some spare parts, perhaps you can pm me and we can arrange something, or, feel free to use my personal e-mail directly.

It is a sad fact that the retail market (youngsters mainly) want instant gratification with controllers that work perfectly out of the box, they are generally, too lazy to want to do anything else but plug and play.

Thank you, to you especially, but your team as well, for being there for those of us that wanted the sort of quality and expertise needed to create the Viking controllers, my gaming would not be where it is otherwise.

I truly would like to maintain contact though, thank you again Einar, I wish you and your family ALL THE BEST.
 

odingalt

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Well, to be fair I failed at delivering something that could be more plug and play. I also could not find a way to deliver the project at a lower price point. I had big plans to sell dirt cheap Berserkers, but Microsoft killed my solderless clip-on. That was a big blow to our retail as it was the only advantage we had left.

Five years ago maybe I would have the gumption to rebuild the forge and app to make them more friendly and to try to find ways to get the costs down.
 
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