Finally. After molesting countless thumbs and ruining everybody's Pac-Man CE scores, the Xbox 360 controller's dismal d-pad looks to be replaced by, well, a functional d-pad. IGN's Martin Robinson claims to have played with a redesigned controller at Leipzig's Games Convention, describing it as "aesthetically identical" to the original (it's actually a sickly green), with "the d-pad sitting in a larger rocker and proving more tactile." The new controller is expected to debut alongside Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 and is thought to have been prompted by the upcoming release of Street Fighter IV.

Good riddance, you worthless, clacking agent of spongy misdirection. Oh, and tell The Duke we said "Hi."

Update: Curses! The pad is a "limited edition, promotional item" for now.

[Thanks, Fenix]

The thing about camp, i.e. the utter failure of seriousness, is that it's often difficult to judge whether it's intentional or not. The live-action cutscenes populating EA's (and Westwood's before that) Command & Conquer games have always had an aura of sincere goofiness about them, the source of which can be traced to somewhat respected actors playing all-too-silly roles all too seriously. But is this done on purpose, or did the director read about "tongue-in-cheek storytelling" in a review somewhere and just decide to go with that?

Either way, we're more than happy to see EA unveil a "star studded" cast (complete list after the break) for Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, which includes George Takei, Tim Curry and J.K. Simmons, who plays the "anti-communist U.S. President." Simmons, who doesn't give a wooden nickel about your legacy, thinks video games "are one of the new frontiers for actors" and thought of the role as a "great opportunity for a character actor like me to have some fun."

Also allowed to open her mouth in the press release: Jenny McCarthy, who plays Allied commando Tanya. "What I realized is Red Alert 3 is not just a video game, it's absolutely an interactive movie. This is where the people at home get to move the story forward, and where seeing the plot thicken is a reward for a job well done." In case you weren't aware, "that's really cool."

Red Alert 3 is out on Xbox 360 and PC this fall in both regular and Premier editions.

EA has announced that February 20, 2009, will mark the rather momentous occasion of stereotypical gamers finally venturing into the brightly lit outside world ... in the game. It's the day The Sims 3, the latest interactive simulation of an annoying, fickle, selfish and lazy race of creatures, will be distributed -- both physically and digitally -- to a bunch of annoying, fickle, selfish and lazy creatures.

If you'd like to append "supercilious" to that list of adjectives, you should consider purchasing The Sims 3 Collector's Edition, which will include an exclusive in-game "Italian-style" sports car for you to maneuver through your envious neighborhood (no wonder those floating diamonds are green). Also included in the package will be a Sims Plumbob USB drive, a tips and hints guide, The Sims 3 Plumbob stickers and, oh yes, the game.

British power metal squealers DragonForce will debut a new and inevitably over-the-top single in a Guitar Hero III track pack later this week. Taken from their new album, Ultra Beatdown, "Heroes of Our Time" will no doubt challenge serious shredders with a never-ending string of shifting notes and finger-knot solos when it arrives on Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store on August 21.

The DragonForce Track Pack will also provide two other overwrought songs, namely "Revolution Deathsquad" and "Operation Ground and Pound," from the album dubbed Inhuman Rampage. Expect this one to go for the usual 500 MS Points ($6.25).

[Via press release]

We are all interested in the future. Indeed, as the great Criswell so astutely observed, "We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives." And it wouldn't be much of a life if it wasn't spent playing the latest video games, no doubt powered by trillions of tetraflops and a giggle-inducing number of gigabytes. Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli has seen this future (it's where he bought his Crysis-capable computer), and has concluded that the next generation of consoles -- as in the Xbox 720 and the PlayStation 4 -- could arrive in 2011 or 2012.

Discussing "The Future of Gaming Graphics" at Leipzig's GC Developer Conference, Yerli estimated that Microsoft and Sony's next offerings would arrive "in three to four years' time, although there are good reasons why it should be 2010 already...but we'll see." Crytek, which most recently worked on Crysis Warhead, has also pinned 2012 as the debut year for its next in-house engine and follow-up to last year's impressive CryEngine2.

Regardless of timing, we're pleased to see that not everybody thinks the current cavalcade of consoles is our last.

When Jeff Gerstmann bemoaned Too Human's "monotonous combat and dated approach to cooperative play," he was unknowingly shunted from the group of haves to the considerably less illustrious group of have nots -- as in have not a clue to comprehend Too Human's unyielding explosion of uniqueness and innovation. "I think we took for granted how innovative the game was," remarks the game's humble director, Denis Dyack.

Speaking to OXM at the game's UK launch, Dyack explains that a lot of the negative reaction to the game's demo (and presumably, the final version) has its roots in the provocative fear of the unknown. "But what we're also seeing is for the people who don't like it, generally just don't get it. And it's because we've created something so innovative and different," he says. "It's ironic, it just shows that human nature of if you don't understand something, you immediately attack it. It's pretty interesting in that regard."

Consider this a plea to game designers everywhere: Please tone down all that rampant innovation, lest we become embroiled in confusion and hostility and ultimately give your game a six out of ten.

Well, that was easy. 2K Games has complied with our subliminal request that it release the PlayStation 3 version of sublime, submerged shooter BioShock in North America on October 21. There was some mental resistance to our suggestions of a worldwide release, however, so you international folks will just have to make do with October 24.

BioShock comes to the PlayStation 3 sporting the same aquatic utopia-turned-dystopia that made the game one of 2007's best, along with Trophies, a new "Survivor" difficulty level and challenge rooms, to be released as downloadable content "shortly after launch."

Cigar-chomping testosterone factory foiling alien invasion news now, with word that the Duke Nukem game you've all been waiting for -- again -- may be arriving imminently. Speaking to Shacknews, 3D Realms' George Broussard has confirmed that the Xbox Live Arcade version of Duke Nukem 3D has defeated the development galaxy's most dreaded scourge, the Microsoft certification process.

"We officially passed final cert on our first try Friday, August 15th," said Broussard, also revealing that the game is due for release "soon." Though we've yet to see convincing evidence that 3D Realms employees are familiar with that last word's meaning, we'll give them the benefit of the doubt when it comes to a game they've at least managed to complete once before.

No price has been announced yet, but Broussard noted that it would be "about what you'd expect." Meanwhile, be sure to check out the list of Duke Nukem 3D's Xbox 360 Achievements, which reward players for tipping strippers and stepping in poo.

Well, of course it does. Ubisoft didn't get where it is today by throwing popular franchises like Splinter Cell away after a single use (although our neck-snapping pal Sam seems to have been misplaced recently), and you can be sure that the upcoming disaster survival adventure ... thing, I Am Alive, will be no different. "We hope it can be another strong franchise for our portfolio, alongside Prince Of Persia or Rayman Rabbids," the publisher's executive director, Alain Corre, told MCV. "It's a new baby for us – and we have big hopes."

Provided it's raised properly and doesn't turn into a snot-nosed brat who sticks Legos up his nose and puts his Altair action figures in the microwave, this baby could be the best kind of disaster to befall any company. Of course, we should probably wait until we've played the first one before we sign off on "I Am Still Alive," and "Seriously, Stop Trying to Kill Me You Stupid Planet."

Our initial plan was to give you excellent readers brand new copies of Atlus' upcoming Persona 4, a desire which those purveyors of quirk deemed noble, but overly contingent on them finishing the game. Sensing our outraged impatience regarding the anticipated RPG's December 9th release, they instead granted us some Persona 3 art books (signed by character designer Shigenori Soejima!) and Persona 4 t-shirts (tagless!). The chance to wear Persona on your person, eh?

To enter this giveaway:

• Leave a comment telling us who your summoned Persona is! It could be anyone or anything from Cthulhu to something infinitely more evil, like TV's Patrick Duffy.
  
• You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec and sprawling, otherworldly dungeons).
  
• Limit 1 entry per person per calendar day (comment more than once and you'll be kept in detention).
  
• This entry period ends at 7:00pm ET on Friday, August 22nd. We'll randomly select three winners at that time, who will receive a signed art book and t-shirt, valued at $50 (can you really put a value on that signature?). Please check your e-mail!
  
• For a list of complete rules that you can peruse or shoot in the head, click here.

If you're really set on winning, sign up for the Atlus Faithful spam ... err, mailing list -- another three winners will be randomly selected from Faithful members.

With the sun setting on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. prequel Clear Sky's development, GSC Game World has let us know that it's finally safe to venture outside -- provided you're packing enough firepower to keep the ravenous and irrevocably irradiated hordes at bay. The anticipated FPS is finally dawn done and should be taking us for a first-person stroll through Chernobyl's utterly charming neighborhood on September 5th (yes, that counts as a minor delay).

If you're the sort who can tell your GPU from your PPU (doesn't that fit into the SKU?), you should be pleased to note that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky will feature support for both DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 chipsets. You'll be wanting those hideously deformed mutants to look their best when they tear your throat out.

Yes, as in a game based on the tedious television show starring perennially pouting Wentworth Whatshisface. Who better to act as warden to this societal dreg than Brash Entertainment, the house that built Jumper: Griffin's Story, Alvin & The Chipmunks and (and!) Space Chimps?

According to Gamespot, the Prison Break video game turned itself in via an advert tucked inside the show's recent Season 3 DVD box set. Aside from a February 2009 release window, little else is known about the project. We'd normally submit a scenario about siblings busting out of a prison -- a "prison break" if you will -- but the show managed to drag on even after its titular event had unfolded. But hey, people are still watching, so the game may just succeed in finding a captive audience.

Goichi Suda has nothing but good things to say about EA Partners in the press release, praising the group for sharing Grasshopper's "commitment to quality and innovation," all the while respecting its "independence as a studio, which is very empowering." EA Games' Frank Gibeau is equally polite, saying, "It is an honor for EA to sign Grasshopper Manufacture and help bring their new franchise to gamers worldwide. Franchise, you say?

Of course, neither of them say anything about the actual game. Way to leave us hanging, guys!

We're hoping you'll just watch the video and not really bother with any of the padding we've surrounded it with. But in case you're wondering, we think Mega Man 9's intro sets the tone for the blue bomber's retro-vitalized return just perfectly. Requiring very little in the way of reflexes, it's also the only section we think we'll have mastered by the time the game hits PSN, XBLA and WiiWare.

Oh, and did you catch the cute news reader cameo? How about that wascally Dr. Wily's "Swiss Bank" number?

[Via Kramez's Blog]

The European PlayStation Store is in for a real technological treat this Thursday, according to a moderator on the Official PlayStation Community forums. Customers scoping the virtual aisles for something more specific than a genre will be able to -- get this -- perform an A-Z search for any games, demos or add-on content. So, you type in a name and the computer will automagically find it for you!

Boy, that sort of utility would be awfully helpful here on the internet. If anyone out there comes up with something vaguely like it, just give us a shout.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]