It's the Holy Grail of self-loathing DualShock gamers. Ditch Sony's controller for Microsoft's with the XCM's latest, fully functional Cross Battle Adapter.

The adaptor plugs into your PS3's USB port where it accepts wired Xbox 360 controllers. Beyond mere "it works!" functionality along with new rumble support, you can also toggle turbo on any button—which is why the unit has like a thousand switches.

The XCM Cross Battle Adaptor is available at a few online retailers where it appears to be selling for about $US55. So the question is, just how much do you hate yourself, fanboy?

The video game industry racked up impressive sales in 2008, pulling in more than $21 billion in sales in the United States alone. That makes for a similarly impressive marketing tab.

According to researchers at the Nielsen Company and its Monitor-Plus advertising monitoring service, the industry spent an astounding $823 million promoting its video game wares to consumers. Hey, you gotta spend money to make money, right? Surely we wouldn't complain.

Despite deep cuts into Microsoft's gaming division, the company says today they remain dedicated to Windows as a "first-class gaming platform."

The company also confirmed to Kotaku that Chris Early, former general manager of Games for Windows Live, was indeed laid off. Ron Pessner, who comes from Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, will be assuming his duties as well as other areas within Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business.

Story from Kotaku Australia

A Missouri State student came back to his dorm to find his Xbox 360 stolen. Realising the controller still connected when turned it on, he set out to find the console. And he did.

This is probably the only set of circumstances in which this would work -- 360 stolen, thief lives 30 feet away, that's only gonna happen in a college dorm. But credit to Ryan Ketsenberg for using some critical thinking and old fashioned sleuthing to get his stuff back and bust a thief.

The New Xbox Experience, a.k.a. the new Xbox 360 Dashboard, hits tomorrow. If you've got an Xbox 360 that's connected to the internet, you're going to be prompted to update your console as soon as you turn it on. No exceptions; this is what your machine will look like until either it dies, you die, or Microsoft decides to make ANOTHER Xbox Experience. Unfortunately, unlike Batman, you didn't have time to prepare. Here are the ten things you should know about the new Xbox experience so you can be set for tomorrow.

Just when you thought you couldn't waste enough time on your Xbox 360, Microsoft has decided to add another way to get you to stare at your tube for longer, by streaming movies and TV shows through its popular game console. The tech giant announced its partnership with the movie-rental company Netflix this week at the E3 video game convention in Los Angeles. While video-gamers were leaping for joy at the convention when Square Enix announced Final Fantasy XIII for the Xbox 360, avid movie fans were leaping even higher to hear about Microsoft's movie deal.

Ben Heckendorn’s game-console creations, from a portable Atari 2600 to a pocket-sized Nintendo 64, are famous in the modder world. But he may have topped himself with his Xbox 360 Elite laptop.

To shoehorn a full 360 into the 2.25-by-16-by-12-inch case and keep it playable, Heckendorn had to install fans and speakers and redo the internal layout of the machine several times. He then rewired the console to output the video to the 17-inch LCD display, on which he mounted an Xbox Live Vision camera for online multiplayer games.

Yes, yes, and yes. Owners of Nintendo's revolutionary new Wii system will soon be welcoming a new game to the stable, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Sure, you'll be able to play it on the PS3 and the Xbox 360, too, but why would anyone bother? This is what the Wii is made for.

Next year, players will be able to wield their controllers like a Skywalker. And you'll do so as a bad guy. Apparently, you'll serve as Darth Vader's apprentice, charged with ridding the universe of Jedi. That might not sound too appealing for those of you who don't like the idea of working for a murderous villain, but watch the trailer here, then try to tell me you're not ready to work for the Empire.—Gregory Mone