Accessory manufacture Mad Catz have just announced that they've signed a licensing agreement with Ubisoft to create branded accessories for the Petz series of games for the Nintendo Wii and DS. Yes, that's right - Mad Catz is going to make accessories branded with Catz, as well as Dolphinz, Dogz, Horsez, Bunnyz, Tigerz, Hamsterz, and any other number of animals that can be pluralises by swapping out an S for a Z. The only question is why this didn't happen sooner.

"Ubisoft develops some of the most engaging, popular video game franchises and we look forward to enhancing the Petz gaming experience by producing accessories that capture the personality and excitement of these titles," said Darren Richardson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mad Catz.

No word on what sorts of accessoriez we can expect, but I'm thinking carrying cases for the DS, maybe a custom stylus or two. May the union of the misspelled animals be a fruitful one.

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Yeah, it was a joke. The new Prince of Persia DS game is not called Imagine: Prinze of Perzia. But it so could have been. Why? Because Ubisoft love putting the letter "Z" at the end of their game titles. Petz, Babyz, Catz, Dogz, they love it. Even if you don't. So why do they persist with it? Is it some cunning marketing ploy? Some means of tapping into our consumerist subconscious? Sadly, no. Speaking with Gamasutra about the latest Dogz title, Ubisoft's Benoit Galarneau said "This title was [originally] developed in 1995 when PF Magic released the first of the series, and we kept it. And since it's always there and nobody else is doing it, maybe it's coming back into fashion". Maybe! Though maybe nobody else is doing it is because 1995 was a long time ago.

Ubisoft's Galarneau On The Rise Of The Petz [Gamasutra]