With it being extremely doubtful that Apple will ever roll out any kind of official game controller for use with iPhone and iPad, it's up to third-party creators and wizards to fill in the gap. 60beat is the latest we've seen to throw a hat into the ring, and its product, the GamePad, seems like a cool accessory.

In a nutshell, the $50 GamePad is a slick-looking, PlayStation-style kind of controller that connects, unlike many third-party controllers, to the headphone jack. No bluetooth black magic -- just seemingly straight-up plug-and-play connectivity.

It features of total of ten buttons, two joysticks, a d-pad, and ships with an audio splitter and a luxuriously long four foot cable. We haven't had any hands-on with one quite yet -- it's in the mail -- but creator 60beat has uploaded a video of the thing in action. Take a look:

Looks cool, right? The biggest hurdle for the GamePad -- other than being a good and meaningful product, of course -- will be grabbing the attention of the iOS development community. It apparently requires some game-side tweaks to work properly, so 60beat and its friends will have to collaborate. As of this moment, only two games support the device: Bugdom 2 [$2.99] and Aftermath [$1.99].

The official web site for the device says we'll hear a lot more about games support in February 2012. Expect more from us on the device in the future, too.

Microsoft, via Xbox Live evangelist Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, has just announced the immediate release of the company's first Xbox Live iOS app, My Xbox Live [Free]. It's a free app that basically acts as a mobile companion to some of the more important aspects of the service. You can read and send messages to anyone on your Friend's List, manage that list or invite new people onto it, edit your profile, gander at all of your hard-earned achievements, or even mess with your Avatar's apparel.

Our time with My Xbox Live has been pretty limited so far, but we're pretty pleased with its presentation and how silky smooth the menu-to-menu navigation is on our iPhone 4S. What's especially tickling us is how it plays all those wonderful little dashboard sounds we've come to love, too.

If you're into the idea of having a mobile version of your Live dashboard in your pocket, this is probably something you need to check out. The zero dollar thing makes that pretty easy to do. Also, it's Universal.

My new favorite thing on iOS is Rebuild [$2.99]. It's a fantastic strategy game that has the capability of ruining your life like only a Civilization can, but it also has this great touch that makes it exceedingly accessible and much more interactive. Its biggest flaw is the fact that it can only be played on iPad 2. Awesomely, that's going to change pretty soon.

In an e-mail exchange with us, Northway Games confirmed that iPad support is on the way in an update that has already been submitted to Apple. This update will also pack in Game Center support, which presumably will add achievements, too. Explaining why the game wasn't release for both platforms at once, Northway said that its technology simply wasn't playing nice with the original iPad. It is now!

If you're interested on checking this out on smaller iOS devices like the iPhone or iPod Touch, the wait might be a while. Northway is open to the platform, but a port isn't in the works just yet.

That Infinity Blade 2 [$6.99] fix? It's out. Earlier last week, droves of users with fourth gen iPod Touches and first generation iPads were reporting nasty crash issues with Epic and Chair's stellar follow-up. Epic was quick to say, "Hey, we're going to fix this thing" and it appears as though the duo has with version 1.01., if reports from our message board are a good indication.

Unfortunately, there's still some rare bugs out there that this update hasn't squashed. Some of our readers are still having problems with frame rate and game transitions in a post-patch environment, while others are still reporting a dreadful-sounding save file glitch that consistently resets progress when the game is restarted. We're all pretty confident that, again, Epic and Chair are really interested in hammering out an update for these things in short order, but we're checking in to make sure.

Regardless, if you or a loved one is having any of these issues (or another), feel free to check out the game's message board thread. There's a couple of solutions in there that seem to be working out for those having problems.

UPDATE: Chair shot us this statement about the upcoming update:

"We are working to resolve an issue impacting some users who are running Infinity Blade 2 on iPad 1 and iPod touch 4 devices. We have already released one update to address some of the issues and another is on the way. We will continue working through this until its resolved."

You'd think from the buzz that the gamification of daily life was a new thing. That we need expensive devices and fancy apps to build rewards into the tasks and chores that otherwise fail to motivate us. But as anyone who's spent time bagging groceries knows, you can turn anything into a game if you try. Bagging groceries is like Tetris -- and your goal is to fit everything into place just perfectly that the bag is full, the eggs are unbroken, and you can still lift the thing into your car.

Bag It! [$0.99 / Universal HD] puts those life skills to good use. Turns out bagging groceries is actually so much fun. Seriously. This little gem almost slipped by us, but I'm sure glad it didn't. In Bag It! you're tasked with bagging up a friendly collection of grocery items, like Sir Eggward and Sunshine the juice carton. Like their real counterparts, they have weight to them, and fragility. A carton of eggs is easily crushed, a watermelon less easily so.

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Yesterday in Unexpected and Weird News, Ubisoft announced plans for an Assassin's Creed board game for the iPad. According to a press release Kotaku obtained, Assassin's Creed Recollection is a real-time strategy "political battle" board game that combines characters and locations from Assassin's Creed 2 and its sequel AC: Brotherhood. Ubisoft says it'll pack in an 8-10 hour campaign, as well as multiplayer upon its release this holiday.

You definitely aren't alone if you're confused by this move or wondering what exactly this thing is. All we have to go on at the moment aside from the vague press release boilerplate are images of the game's cards. My gut tells me that this will be a simple line-up and battle kind of game, like the one featured INSIDE of id's FPS Rage. Could be totally wrong, though.

What a weird announcement and idea, right? Also, wouldn't it be weird if Ubisoft just stopped here with these board game tie-ins? Then again, I don't make the big money decisions at these publishers who want iOS tie-ins or cross-overs.

[Via Kotaku]

Another mini-cabinet peripheral for the iPad is coming, and the studio responsible for some of the sickest arcade games in the universe is behind the wheel of the project. Earlier this week, Taito unveiled a short promotional video for the InvaderCade. It’s basically the iCade, except with seven less buttons, a charging dock, and branded Space Invaders arcade machine art. Who knew there was room for two of these peripherals, no less three, eh?

To get a tad bit more specific, the InvaderCade sports a ball-top joystick and a singular button. It’s a bulky 25 x 23 x 25 cm and requires external power, but it boasts a charging dock, speakers, and a headphone jack —- three features the iCade doesn’t have. For those of you keeping score, the Atari arcade peripheral has a total of four buttons, no external power, and, somehow, manages to look way sillier than its competition.

Game Set Watch notes that this isn’t slated for the West just yet, but it hits in Japan in a matter of weeks -- October 11th is the target release date and it’ll cost around $200. I hope it comes with a few games and a backscratcher at that price.

[Via TUAW, Game Set Watch]

9 to 5 Mac is reporting that GameStop, the US-based video game retailer famed for its glut of “used” goods, is set to begin carrying the iPhone, the iPod Touch, and the iPad in all of its storefronts soon. The company has been testing the tablet and other iDevice waters in at least 20 stores since earlier this summer, while its online arm has been been advertising trade-ins of used iOS devices -- including old scroll-wheel iPods -- for a good clip, so this decision isn't totally out of left field. Company president Tony Bartel has also stated in the past that a nationwide roll-out of the initiative was set to happen in 2011.

9 to 5 was hearing these tidings from various sources coming from the company’s recent function in Las Vegas, Nevada where this announcement was supposedly made. No information regarding timing, trade-in values, or how it’ll handle the sell of used iPhones -- which you know, are phones -- has slipped out, unfortunately. (more...)

The wait for Tales of Monkey Island HD episodes is over. In one of the craziest App Store maneuvers I’ve ever seen, Telltale Games pushed out the remaining four episodes of the five-episode arc in a single afternoon. Each title is available at an agreeable $6.99, which a few dollars shy of what they continue to cost on other downloadable services.

In the interest of drumming up interest, Telltale has also slashed the price of the first game to $0 for a limited time. It’s a good game at a great price, and like the rest of the titles in the series, it’s faithful to the vision of Monkey Island while also still exhibiting its own charm and takes on the universe.

I've been there and back again with the series, so allow me to give you a little look at each app:

Monkey Island Tales 1 HD, $6.99 - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - Talk about opening with a bang. Within the first minutes of the Tales series, Guybrush defeats his arch-nemesis the evil pirate LeChuck. Unfortunately, in the process, Guybrush loses his wife, his ship, and... unleashes a deadly pox into the world. Most of this episode centers on Guybrush getting a ship in order to find Elaine.

Monkey Island Tales 2 HD, $6.99 - Things don't easier even though a few minor goals were met in the previous episode. In this adventure specifically, Guybrush re-unites with his wife and meets the Mer-people in his search for La Esponja Grande, which is otherwise known as the cure for the misanthropic pox infesting the world.

Monkey Island Tales 3 HD, $6.99 - You'd roast me if I revealed the setting for this episode, but I do want to note that it's something COMPLETELY different than the previous episodes. In this place, Guybrush meets two new characters to the series, one of which becomes a key driver in the rest of the story arc.

Monkey Island Tales 4 HD, $6.99 - Guybrush goes on trial in the place where it all started. How does he defend himself against the accusations thrown at him? If only it was as simple as "Look behind you, a three-headed monkey!"

Monkey Island Tales 5 HD, $6.99 - Now, the task is to save the world against a threat. How Monkey Island of Telltale. Oh, and if it wasn't plain, this is indeed the last episode of the series. But what a conclusion, let me tell you.

As a whole, this is a fantastic series. Sure, there are spots where the story drags and, yeah, there are definitely some horrible puzzles, but this series is easily some of Telltale Games sharpest work. The writing in particular is impressive. If you dig the first episode -- don't forget, it's free -- definitely start diving into the rest of these. They're worth your time.

The iCade is here. It started as an April Fools joke and became a reality. We got ours this evening and wanted to share a few unboxing photos. Its Bluetooth controls work right out of the box with all 100 games in Atari's Greatest Hits [App Store] and so far it's been a blast to play with.

We'll post our full review of the system tomorrow. Stay tuned.

I have no idea if the Guinness Book of World Records is anywhere near among kids these days as it was when I was younger but back in my day, that was prime Christmas or birthday gift material. I totally missed the memo for this, but I guess they've even dropped the "Book of" from their title and now they're just "Guinness World Records". There have been a number of other changes over the years chronicled by Wikipedia, beginning with the pub argument that spawned the book all the way back in 1951 to recent TV shows, and video games. Guinness World Records: Gamers Edition Arcade [99¢] is one of those games, and might just be your one way ticket into the record books.

Included are 5 mediocre mini-games. Hoover's Hot-Air Escape puts you in charge of piloting a hot air balloon and tilting your device to avoid obstacles. In Mental Gears you need to swipe to rotate gears into proper alignment. Rupee Roulette is a tilt-based reaction game where you sort gems in to appropriately colored chests. Chest of Destruction is a simple tap-based bomb diffusing game and Monkey Country is a basic whack-a-mole type game.

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After spending hours in line today, I managed to get my greasy sausage fingers on a brand new iPad 2. I'll be doing a first impressions post shortly, but the insane differences between Infinity Blade [$5.99] running on the original iPad when compared to the iPad 2 seemed too substantial to not immediately write about. Some things to look for in these screen shots include how smooth the edges are on the iPad 2, as well as how high resolution the textures are in comparison. We have this kind of image quality, while everything runs at a much higher frame rate.

The best way to view these comparisons is to click on one to load up the light box image viewer, then click through the screenshots one by one, going back and forth to compare them. The differences are obvious.

iPad 2 on left, iPad on right:

If this is what the iPad 2 can do with existing games that got a quick update to take advantage of the new horsepower, I can't wait to see what games are going to look like that are built from the ground up for the device.

Oh, let’s not beat around the bush. Apple is poised to announce the iPad 2 on March 2nd, 2011. The tech giant’s marketing department has been firing off invitations to select outlets, including our very own, for an event scheduled for 10:00 AM at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. As you’ll see in the promotional art blasted our way, Apple is making it plain that it is indeed announcing a second-generation iPad on the heels of numerous rumors indicating that it would.

Not too subtle, eh? That’s why I’m biting the bullet here and avoiding “safe words” like probably, presumably, and all that jazz.

One thing we’re definitely not sure of is what will be included in the new iPad. An on-board camera and a potentially even a SD slot seem like a safe bet, but there’s a lot of speculation over the processor, screen, and potential mystery ports. Some people are suggesting it’ll boast a Retina Display and a beastly dual-core SGX543 GPU, but we won ‘t know for sure until March 2nd. We’ll be there, of course, and we hope you’ll join us for a week of insane coverage both at GDC and now at this Apple event.

It’s not hard to get excited about the second generation PSP or the “Next Generation Portable,” as Sony calls it, especially if you do most of your gaming on the go. On top of a familiar button and doodad layout with an added stick for his comfort, the publisher is tacking on a kitchen sink’s worth of tech, including tilt and touch, as well as two different cameras and 3G support. It’s just about everything you’d want from a next generation portable device.

Men wiser than I have told me, though, that the specifications for the NGP that were revealed last night for the first time are good indications of the direction Apple will be going with its second generation iPad and 5th generation touch devices if rumors are to be believed. Manufacturers tend to pull from the same hardware shelf and then tweak components like brand new CPUs and GPUs so they cater to their own devices, meaning we might see comparable stuff from Apple whenever it reveals its next gen platforms.

Do note the NGP is using an ARM Cortex A9 which has been rumored as the potential foundation for the Apple A5 chip, the successor to the A4 found in current devices. It's also using a similar GPU to the one most people in the Apple rumors community expects to see in upcoming iOS devices as well.

So, what will the next round of Apple devices have in them? Only really, really special people (think: dudes who work for Apple) know for sure, so this is all speculation on our part. But what’s so exciting about this -- aside from being able to fill out some slots in our Apple press conference BINGO cards a little earlier this year -- is that the NGP looks capable of rendering native PS3 games. If Apple were to actually put all this junk into its next handheld, we’ll be fiddling with incredible machines with the power to output visuals and tech on the same level as current consoles. WILD, right? Oh, how those budgets will soar!

And speaking of wallets, Sony isn't talking price at the moment. But if the PS3 was any indication... well, you might have to get a second or third job. For more information on the NGP, swing over to Engadget.

Before I get started with this, please take everything in this post with a grain of salt. The accuracy of the Apple rumors community historically has varied widely between spot on, and, well, about as good as the ancient art of Tyromancy. That being said, because of how secretive Apple as a company is, following these rumors sure is a lot of fun-- Regardless of whether or not they turn out to be true.

First off, since we learned about the Retina Display of the iPhone 4, the Internet has been rumbling with the potential of a similar "Retina" display in the successor to the iPad. According to Mac Rumors, this might not be as far fetched as originally thought. Apparently, version 1.1 of Apple's iBooks [Free] "accidentally" included some graphical resources that are twice the size of the ones currently in use on the iPad.

Now, depending on how you read these virtual tea leaves, this could mean one of two things: Someone at Apple knows that rumor hounds will dig through absolutely everything they can for any kind of hint, or the screen resolution of the iPad 2 will be double that of the current iPad. This would put the screen resolution at 2048x1536, sporting 260 DPI. It's not quite the pixel density of the iPhone 4's Retina Display, but you typically hold the iPad much farther away from your eyes. This means that even at a lower DPI this screen could potentially provide a similar "Retina" effect. (I suppose there's a third alternative that this means neither of these things, but how much fun is that?)

Things get even more interesting though when you consider that Global Direct Parts, the guys who had the "iPhone 5" parts video (which actually turned out to be the CDMA Verizon iPhone), also have their hands on a screen that fits the previously mentioned description. The price of this part? $218.19, compared to the original $144.99 the original iPad screen cost at launch from the same site.

But what does the higher price of the components have to do with anything? Well, as appleguy123 points out on the Mac Rumors forums, according to Apple's 2010 Annual Report:

The Company expects its gross margin percentage to decrease in future periods compared to levels achieved during 2010 and anticipates gross margin levels of about 36% in the first quarter of 2011. This expected decline is largely due to a higher mix of new and innovative products that have higher cost structures and deliver greater value to customers, and expected and potential future component cost and other cost increases.

Whether this refers specifically to the increased cost of the components in the iPad 2, or something else entirely is anyone's guess, but it is a curious coincidence. If the screen does turn out to be 2048x1536, there's an entirely new issue to be addressed: The sheer number of pixels the iPad GPU is going to have to push. For the sake of comparison, the resolution of a 30" LCD is only barely higher, at 2560x1600. Gaming at that resolution is a formidable task for even dedicated gaming PC's, much less a mobile device. That's higher resolution than what we consider "HD" these days as well, which only weighs in at a paltry 1920x1080 in comparison.

Mac Rumors has an answer to this too, courtesy of Apple Insider. If these rumors turn out to be true, both the iPad 2 and iPhone 5 will use a dual-core SGX543 GPU from Imagination Technologies. What makes this rumor hold more water than your typical bean spillage by an "industry insider" is the fact that the iOS 4.3 beta already includes drivers for this GPU. Odd coincidence, eh? What's even cooler is that not only do these GPUs boast some incredible performance figures, they also support anywhere between two and sixteen cores handled entirely by hardware, without a single change to any software required to scale performance.

Again, I'm not entirely sure how true these rumors are, but there is something strange afoot. It would make the most sense to double the iPad screen resolution, as it would allow graceful upscaling via pixel doubling much like running a non-Retina Display app on the Retina Display of the iPhone 4. If Global Direct Parts' pricing can be trusted, the component cost of the screen doesn't seem that far out of line. On top of all that, it's really hard to deny the coincidence between the GPU rumors and Apple actually including the drivers for that very GPU inside of their own operating system.

We'll have to wait and see what Apple reveals as the inevitable iPad 2, but if the Apple rumors scene is to be believed, it has potential to be an insane gaming machine.