I was pleasantly surprised to get an update last week from Bodielobus, an innovative developer bringing trackballs to console game controllers. After months of relative silence, Bodielobus has made the major announcement that their Paradox Controller for Playstation 2 is available for Pre-order at Buyreflex.com. The Paradox is Bodielobus’ first controller incorporating Reflex Control, a trackball that replaces the usual right thumbstick.

Although I’m not a Playstation 2 owner, I’m excited to finally see the trackball concept approach reality. Hopefully, this will represent a proof of concept among gamers and reviewers that the trackball can dramatically improve gameplay, especially in FPS’s. Bodielobus has not made any official announcement regarding future compatabilty with other platforms.

At the time of writing, the Paradox controller can be pre-ordered for a surprisingly low $21.99 USD, plus shipping. According to the site, that number will go up by $1 each week, until itis $26.99. NOTE: By using the "trackballer" code at http://www.buyreflex.com/Order.aspx or by using this link, the price at checkout is only$19.99. I don’t know if that is intentional or not.

Unfortunately, Bodielobus does not have an official release date slated yet, and I expect they are waiting for a minimum number of orders before hitting the manufacturing stage. I would not complain if Bodielobus sent me a prototype for review (hint, hint).

Xbox 360 Gamers who are put-off by thumbstick control in their FPS games may soon find keyboard and mouse relief in the Magic XFPS.

The Magic XFPS is an adapter that plugs into the controller port on the Xbox 360 console. It accepts a keyboard and mouse (or trackball mouse, of course) through two USB or PS2 ports.

Developer Team Xtender has announced Dec 19th as the official release date for the XFPS 360, with a retail price of $80 USD .

You can learn more about the people behind the Xfps at their official site:
http://www.teamxtender.com/

Nearly every game reviewer has said this that Never Winter Nights 2 needed a few more minutes in the oven before being released. What needs to fixed or enhanced first? At Grupthink, you can vote for, and add new items you want to see addressed by the developers, in a Neverwinter Nights 2 Patch Wishlist. Here is the current top 10:

Now this sounds promising: 

(Via xbox360fanboy.com)

Speaking at Gamefest, Microsoft hardware guru, Robert Walker Texas Ranger, spoke of a possible redesign of the 360 controller. This "advanced" — and optional — control would be in lieu of keyboard and mouse support — something Microsoft still has no intention of doing. Thus, the new control would feature a redesigned right analog stick to allow for more precision, mouse-like movements. Naturally this controller would appeal mostly to gamers who prefer first person shooters and possibly RTS games.

Full article: http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2006/08/16/new-360-controller-in-the-works/ 

More at:

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/43366

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=10479 

IGN gave the Bodielobus (formerly whitefusion) controller a great hands-on review!

 
 "With all the commotion surrounding the Wii and PS3 controllers at E3, it’s hard not to get the feeling that motion tracking is the only new controller innovation out there. Fortunately for Gear, that’s not the case. BodieLobus is a young company with a pretty new take on the traditional console controller, and we got a chance to go hands on with the Reflex Control unit … Once my brain learned not to compensate for an analog stick’s acceleration, I attained a level of accuracy I had never experienced without a mouse and keyboard combination."

Full article: http://gear.ign.com/articles/708/708054p1.html