Our controllers already vibrate, have six axises and can be swung around and thrown into our TVs, but what we are lacking is hot and cold sensations. Imagine yourself in an arctic level in a game and your controller gets cold. Or maybe it heats up while you travel a desert level. Temperature could really put you more in the game.

An experimental new video game controller was just revealed at this week’s SIGGRAPH conference that includes a pair of thermoelectric panels on each side of the controller. Those surfaces heat or cool rapidly in reaction to what’s happening in the game.

Polaroid is a name that has long been associated with instant cameras. But now, headsets and battery packs for the Xbox 360, a dock for the Nintendo DS, sports packs and sensor bars for the Wii, and even controllers for the PS3 are being worked on by Polaroid.

Maybe next we’ll see a Polaroid camera peripheral for the Wii, so you can snap shots of your game and add them to your scrapbook. Hey, they have to make money somehow right?

One of the coolest games that I played in the last several years on the PC was BioShock. The game was tons of fun and had a very original storyline and fantastic graphics. 2K Games has announced today that the latest entry in the BioShock franchise, BioShock 2 is now shipping.

The game is available globally on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 systems and carries an M rating. This time around, the player is in the shoes of a Big Daddy, one of the creepiest characters from the original game. The events in the single player game take place as a sequel to the original.

JVL has introduced the Vortex touchscreen countertop video game. Because let’s face it, we don’t have enough video games on countertops. It includes 148 different games, all with fancy lights and sounds, making your kitchen or other countertop an amusemet park of sorts.

Gaming, trivia, hall of fame, net connectivity for online tournaments… What more do you want while you’re in the kitchen making some hot-pockets. The $3,299 countertop game offers enhanced visual effects, super VGA high-color graphics, high capacity Flash Memory Card and USB compatibility, along with 16 bit stereo.

Calculators just aren’t cool. They have long been associated with nerds that wear taped-up glasses and pocket protectors. Well, this calculator should help you nerds up your game a bit since it looks like a video game controller. All of the buttons are in the right place.

This calculator has 27 functions, an 8 digit LCD display, and a two handed design. It won’t kill zombies, or cure geek acne, but it will kill math problems dead and make homework faster.

Here are some ornaments that are sure to make your tree geek-chic this Christmas. Sure, you could go the usual route and deck your tree in cheesy plastic ornaments that are all generic, but these ornaments are so much cooler.

They represent you for the gaming geek that you are. Forget the boring Santas and the plain red ball ornaments. A Dreamcast controller is what the holidays are really about. Right?

We’ve seen some crazy Foosball tables, but nothing like this one. It’s clearly from the future and it’s name is Space Foosball. Basically they’ve turned foosball into a tabletop video game.

Sure it takes some of the fun out of it. No spinning paddles that kick a real ball around the table. But think about it. The players can now be anything. Donkey Kong Vs. Mario, Space Invaders… The possibilities are endless.

If you have been a gamer for a long time like I have you probably have games stuffed in a box somewhere for consoles that went obsolete years ago. Somewhere I still have a box packed with games for the 3DO. If you are tired of those old games hanging around, Toys “R” Us has a new program that will help you get rid of them.

The toy retailer has announced a new trade-in program for video games that covers more than 25 different gaming consoles including classic consoles like the Atari 2600. The trade-in program also covers new consoles like the Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360 as well.

If you’re a fan of Redbox and have been hoping for some video game rentals kiosks, then you will love this news. It’s happening. For $2 a night, you can rent games for Nintendo DS, Wii, PS2 and 3, and Xbox 360. That’s not a super awesome price compared to Blockbuster, but it’s not bad.

Right now the game selections are slim, but that should improve quickly, so no worries. At the moment it’s only in the Reno, Nevada area. But like their selection of games it should expand in no time.

Political statement or just a literary mod? You decide. Most gamers are well aware former attorney Jack Thompson’s stance on gaming. It’s nice to see that his book embraces gaming at long last, with a little help from Mattigus, a user on the Halflife2.Net forums who is simply brilliant.

Don’t worry. He bought the book used on eBay, so no 13-cent royalty for Mr. Thompson. It was also a library book, which not surprisingly, was never even checked out. It is an actual functioning mod.

One of the best shooters to hit the PC and consol systems in a while was Call of Duty: World at War. The game had great action, good multiplayer support, and voice-overs from top talent. Overall, the game was fantastic.

Activision has announced that the second map pack for the game is now available. The map pack is available for the Xbox 360 and the PS3 and offers four new maps. The maps include Banzai, a medium size map with a waterfall and Corrosion putting players in a Russian train yard.

We thought we would take a look at some questionable gaming tattoos. The kind that are either a bad idea or not well thought out, or just plain wrong. Gamers love getting tattoos of their favorite characters, but sometimes, they just need a friend to stop them from making a horrible mistake.

Friends don’t let friends make bad tattoo decisions. Unless both of you have been drinking heavily anyway. Some of the images are NSFW. Click through to check them all out.

EA is one of the most popular and successful game publishers around. The company has several top game franchises including one of the best selling ever –The Sims. EA is getting set for E3 coming up at the beginning of June and is talking a bit about the games it will be highlighting at the show.

There are a number of games being show at E3 by EA, but one of the coolest is Army of Two: the 40th Day. The game will be available for Xbox 360, PS3, and PSP this winter. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is coming in Q1 2010 for Xbox, PS3, and PC platforms and offers serious destruction to gamers.

I have fond memories of dodge ball games form my elementary school days. You could always tell who was good at the game by the looks on their face when the coach rolled out that metal rack with all the red plastic balls on it. A smile and a woot meant watch out, a frown and a look of terror meant dodge ball fodder.

A game that pits pirates and ninjas in a dodge ball death match is now available for the Nintendo Wii. The game is called Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball. If pirates and ninjas don’t float your boat, you can also play as a team of zombies, aliens, robots, monsters, or mushroom men.

I went to see Star Trek on opening weekend and out of the 600 trailers that ran before the movie started, one of the coolest was for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The movie looks pretty good and today anytime we hear of a new movie that can possibly support a video game tie in, we know it’s coming.

Activision has announced that the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen game to go along with the film is under development and will use voice talent from the films leading starts including Shai “I really (really) love my momma” LeBeouf and Megan “Miss Hotness” Fox.