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

From Nintendo.com:

…Nintendo breaks with more than 20 years of video game history by abandoning the traditional controller held with two hands and introducing an all-new freehand-style unit held with one hand.

The intuitive, pioneering interface allows players to run, jump, spin, slide, shoot, steer, accelerate, bank, dive, kick, throw and score in a way never experienced in the history of gaming.

“The feeling is so natural and real, as soon as players use the controller, their minds will spin with the possibilities of how this will change gaming as we know it today,” explains Satoru Iwata, Nintendo president. “This is an extremely exciting innovation – one that will thrill current players and entice new ones.”

When picked up and pointed at the screen, the controller gives a lightning-quick element of interaction, sensing motion, depth, positioning and targeting dictated by movement of the controller itself.

The controller also allows for a variety of expansions, including a “nunchuk” style analog unit offering the enhanced game-play control hard-core gamers demand.

 Read article at Nintendo.com: