So, that new-and-improved Xbox 360 controller? It's real. It's silver. And the d-pad transforms, switching from the Xbox's traditional, kinda crappy disc to an honest-to-goodness four-directional d-pad—all you've gotta do is twist it. Now for the bad news.



It's only available as part of a $65 play-and-charge kit bundle that comes out Nov. 9. Booooo. Even the other improvements, like comfier triggers, don't add up to that kind of value in a forced bundle. That said, it seems like we won't see this in other controllers, since Major Nelson mentions that Microsoft has patented the crap out of it. The real test is how it performs in real life—is it actually a better d-pad? We'll have to see.

But seriously, why didn't they include this in the new Xbox? [Major Nelson]