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?