In a surprising turn of events, Mad Catz PR guy and Divekick character Mark “Markman” Julio has announced his departure from Mad Catz today. The most shocking bit of news isn’t necessarily his leaving, but the events surrounding his leaving that are a bit tragic. Julio didn’t leave on his own terms as he made reference to at Evo last year, he was laid off in the wave of firings we reported on earlier.
Mark Julio originally made his name in the Tekken community, before becoming an expert in arcade stick technology and investing his time at Mad Catz to turn it into a powerhouse creator of professional fighting game controllers. Now he has left that life behind to go home and be a family man.
Julio posted about his departure on Twitter/NeoGAF:
We’ve done great things at @MadCatz over the past 8 years. I’m proud of everything we did for a community I love. I’ll always be around. 🙂
— Mark Julio (マークマン) (@MarkMan23) February 15, 2016
More time for TEKKEN.
More time for arcade sticks.
More time to go home and be a family man.I get to work with everyone now.
^_^
— Mark Julio (マークマン) (@MarkMan23) February 15, 2016
I’m still part of the Mad Catz Twitch Team tho. Better win those FightSticks lol. Ends soon! pic.twitter.com/M79wg7YDWK
— Mark Julio (マークマン) (@MarkMan23) February 15, 2016
Had to post on NeoGAF just so everyone knows too. Cheers and please enjoy today’s show. ^_^ pic.twitter.com/Uphyfba1ca
— Mark Julio (マークマン) (@MarkMan23) February 15, 2016
It’s interesting to note that Julio states he isn’t going anywhere specific yet. He points out that he wants to focus on Tekken and spending time with his daughter, so perhaps he’ll find somewhere with a lighter schedule and deeper ties to the fighting game community. Twitch or Sony seem like safe bets. Best wishes to him in his future endeavors.
