An image published to Twitter, and since taken down, by a QA tester for LEGO developer Traveler's Tales, depicts a WIi U controller with traditional twin analog joysticks, not analog pads similar to the 3DS', as had been shown in earlier images of the controller.

Games Radar, which first reported the picture, notes that the start and select buttons have shifted, as well as the existence of some new square button on the left side whose purpose is unknown. This controller also carries the Wii U branding, unlike previous models.

Development kits may differ from the actual consumer product, of course, though it would be unusual for developers to get a controller with proper analog sticks if the commercial unit still featured the nubs. It may also be a future or alternate model that won't be released at launch or be available separately (which would be a publicity disaster for Nintendo.)

Everything is conjecture at this point, but again, I've asked a Nintendo of America representative if the company wishes to address this variance. Guess we'll find out more at E3. [Update] As expected, the NOA representative said the company does not comment on rumor or speculation.

Revised Wii U controller image leaks to Twitter - actual analog sticks, other minor changes shown [Games Radar]

Time magazine's ridiculous breast-feeding cover was all the talk last week. On Mother's Day, Kotaku's legion of photoshoppers smoothed the last shovelful of dirt on this ridiculously desperate concept. We have 20 smart 'shoppers inside, plus overall winner DarkStar!

Leading off, anzicurt (2) spent a hell of a lot of time on this box shot, with our endorsement nice and prominent. This would be my favorite Kinect game if it was two-player co-operative.

Cornjerky (7) calls back to a long-running, old-reliable theme in the 'Shop Contest but the presentation—and the Data East byline—is ironic enough to get a thumbs-up from me.. Curugon (8) heard "nipples" and clearly thought of George Clooney as Batman.

Decava (10) points out the one thing everyone overlooked. What the shit was the deal with that chair, anyway?

I said overt sex acts would get moderated; GiantBoyDetective (12) walks up to the line and just barely peeks out over it.

JimThePea (13) offers a superb pun on the headline. John Smith 1882 (14) finally gets back in the game with his excellent cover. Pan1da7 (16) was first and best on the Samus/Metroid theme.

Scavengre (17) had the best take on one of the cover's alternate headlines. Seivewright (18) delivered a widely acclaimed cover starring the Queen Mother alien. stamp.your.foot's (19) Game of Thrones homage and Stuky's (20) tribute to the three-boobed hooker from Total Recall were huge fan favorites.

But my favorite? DarkStar (9) gave us the notorious cosplay provacateur Jessica Nigri, profiled by her fellow PAX East troublemaker Keith Apicary (see the byline).

Thanks again everybody. We'll be back tomorrow with another contest.

Alkafismo
anzicurt
AttorneyAtMusic
BigMike McCarthy
blueTunic
codexcdm
Cornjerky
Curugon
DarkStar
Decava
dummysystem
GiantBoyDetective
JimThePea
John Smith 1882
kyosen
Pan1da7
Savengre
seivewright
stamp.your.foot
Stuky

The fine football satirists at Every Day Should Be Saturday caught on to something that eluded me during NFL Blitz's launch back in January. Not only are late hits stripped out of the game, the playbook has been toned down considerably.

Not in terms of play dynamics—you still have "Da Bomb", and all sorts of elaborate plays that take forever to get set up, allowing the opposing defense plenty of time to wreck your quarterback. It's in the name of the plays. Specifically, the original Blitz had:

• Flood Slit
• Tasty Treat
• Smack You
• Deep Attack

EDSBS also cited a "Double Teen Anal Mesh" and "CTE BRAINBLEED NUTSLAP," but they must have been on a platform I did not play at the time.

In the EA Sports reboot of NFL Blitz, the most suggestive it gets is, maybe ... "Cruis'n?" If you're looking for a hookup in a public park or an airport restroom, I suppose. "Split Backs" takes a lot of raised eyebrows and amirite to be a double-entendre.

NFL Blitz Had a Very Suggestive Playbook [Every Day Should Be Saturday]

Though we seem to be through the worst of Diablo III's humiliating server outages at launch this week, who knows when those things will need to be worked on again. Logging in to Battle.net and waiting for the credential verification to time out is a long and stupid way of being told you can't play the game.

To that end, someone's drawn up a free app for Android smartphones that gives the status of the servers. Eluamous, the developer behind it, also wrote apps checking the server status of World of Warcraft and Star Wars: The Old Republic. This monitors the status of all Diablo III servers in North America, Asia, and Europe.

Diablo III Server Checker [Google Play via PocketGamer.]

Have you heard that video is a big thing over at Gawker Media? It's true, we watch and post a lot of videos each week. Here are some of the best videos of week, culled from an array of Gawker Media sites.

Russian ‘Skywalkers' Scale 1000-Foot Bridge without Safety Equipment for Fun

19-year-old Moscow-based photographer Vitaly Raskalov and two of his friends were taken into custody by police after posting evidence of their shenanigans online. View »

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How I Threw My Hair-Perm Superfly Spitball, By Dock Ellis: A New Animated Short

The video above is "Superfly Spitball," an animated short that grew out of the same interview-conducted by Donnell Alexander and Neille Ilel-that gave us Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No. Animated by Heidi Perry and co-produced by Thor Swift, the short will appear in a forthcoming iBook, Beyond Ellis D. For much more, read Alexander's accompanying essay. View »

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Epic Tea Time with Alan Rickman

If you suspected that actor/perfect voice haver Alan Rickman could bring intensity, depth and gravitas to even the most mundane of tasks then you would be right. Now, answer the question: One lump or two? View »

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Nine Compelling Diablo III Features That Didn't Make the Final Game

As I play through Diablo III, I can't help but think back to all of the amazing features I witnessed over the course of three years of BlizzCon that didn't make the cut. YouTube user AlluvianGarald compiles several of these into one disappointment-inducing video. View »

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Watch Every Gear Shift From All Five Fast & The Furious Movies

We've talked about movie car shifting and Fast and Furious movie car shifting before, so this is especially edifying. View »

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Conan Opens First Letterman Appearance in 13 Years with Jay Leno Impression

Visiting his Late Night predecessor David Letterman for the first time since 1999, talk show host Conan O'Brien took the opportunity to discuss the infamous Tonight Show debacle with a man who knows a thing or two about Tonight Show debacles. View »

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Reconstructing The Most Exciting Day In The History Of Soccer (And Maybe Sports, Period)

The final day of the 2011 MLB regular season enchanted us with its insanity; its events became a video game montage and inspired its own tag here on Deadspin. That day, however, only determined which teams would gain entry to the playoffs. By comparison, Sunday's final day of the English Premier League was Game #162 combined with a World Series Game 7 won on a walk-off homer in extra innings. View »

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The Most Mesmerizing Fluid Dynamics Video You'll Ever See

Science videos can be difficult to understand, badly produced and and slow-going. Not this one, because really it's just a compilation of cool fluid dynamics phenomena, stitched together into a wonderful, mesmerizing three minute clip. View »

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‘Bugatti Can Kiss My Ass'

John Hennessey isn't known for being the shy and retiring type. Still, suggesting that the company widely accepted as the maker of the fastest production cars in the world apply lips to posterior is a bit on the bold side. How do you get the cojones to do so? Oh, by putting 1,200 HP in a stretched Elise, then removing the roof. View »

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Congresswoman Who Was Raped Understandably Pissed at Passage of Weaksauce Violence Against Women Act

Congresswoman Gwen Moore, a Democrat from Wisconsin, told reporters that the watered down House Republican version of the Violence Against Women Act was insulting to her as a woman of color, and as a rape victim. The House's version of the bill stripped away provisions from the Senate version of the bill that would have extended protection to Native American, undocumented, and LGBT women who were victims of violence. View »

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Here's a Clip From Community, Entirely in 16-Bit Video Game Form

Do you love NBC's comedy show, Community? I love Community. Though the show often pokes fun at film and television tropes-typically through the dorky, yet lovable character Abed-the characters sometimes toy around with video game jokes, too. View »

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How Can He Slap?: Will Smith Nearly Sucker Punches Ukrainian Reporter Who Tries to Kiss Him on the Mouth

Here's an interesting bit of celebrity trivia I learned today: Will Smith does not like it when Ukrainian television reporters try to kiss him on the mouth. Huh! View »

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Here's Kerry Wood's Emotional Exit From Baseball, After One Final Strikeout

We reported earlier today Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood is retiring from baseball, but the oft-injured hurler promised to make one last appearance before hanging up his cleats. That appearance came today, and it was in a legitimate spot; down 3-2 in the eighth, Wood relieved starter Jeff Samardzija and promptly struck out White Sox outfielder Dayan Viciedo. View »

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Watch How This Time-Expanding Car Commercial Was Painstakingly Stitched Together

It turns out Phantom cameras are useful for more than just destroying household items and blowing stuff up. This Fiat Abarth spot made use of the slow-motion wonder cam in this fantastical "still moving image," and the behind the scenes is pretty amazing. View »

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The Mindy Project Looks Hilarious and Kaling-ful

Just last week it was announced that Mindy Kaling's sitcom had been picked up and already they're giving us a preview? Why, thank you, Fox! Perhaps we can start forgiving you for cancelling Arrested Development all those years back. (Only joking. We will never forgive you.) View »

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It reads like fan fiction and the rumor's original reporter—who uncovered PlayStation All-Stars six months before it was announced—concedes that nothing about it is confirmed. But Retro Studios is said to be working on, or at least to have considered, Star Fox-Metroid Fusion Saga, a mashup of third-person action gameplay with aerial/space combat.

Paul Gale Network revealed Sony's work on a Smash Bros.-esque fighting game back in November, which has since been confirmed along the lines it was originally described. But in that story, the publication had a mobile phone picture of a screen at the time. Paul Gale Network concedes it has no secondary proof of this concept and admits this may have been discarded long ago, back when Retro was pitching ideas and Nintendo was looking to send the studio a new project.

Kotaku reached out to a Nintendo of America representative this morning and was told that the company, per longstanding policy, does not comment on rumor or speculation.

The concept involves controlling both characters in their familiar gameplay environments, with moments of switched roles; Samus' ship would be pilotable like Fox McCloud's; McCloud would be a character in a third-person sequence. A very detailed description is at the link. If it's on the level or bogus, I suppose we'll find out at E3 in a couple of weeks.

RUMOR: Is Retro Studios' Wii U game "Star Fox – Metroid: Fusion Saga"? [Paul Gale Network]

This clever Grand Theft Auto mod is pretty funny for the first 1:45 then HOLY SHIT does this little droid turn into an engine of destruction. And if you think that is hilarious, my God, turn off the annotations and wait until 3:43 for one hellacious surprise. Just cover your keyboard, or don't be drinking anything.

This mod was done by YouTube user jrmoorf00t4 based on an idea by his friend taltigolt.

Grand Theft Auto IV R2-D2 Mod [YouTube. Big h/t to Andy S.]

We haven't heard much out of Brothers in Arms: Furious 4, a game announced a year ago at E3, one that is quite a departure from the tone of other games preceding it. That, coupled with the lapsed trademarks surrounding the game, sent out the rumor that the game was canceled.

A spokesman for Gearbox Software, the game's maker, explained the trademark issue when Kotaku inquired. He said both Gearbox and Ubisoft, the games publisher, were listed as co-applicants for Furious 4's marks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. But the USPTO rejected that filing because Gearbox holds the exclusive registrations for all Brothers in Arms trademarks.

"Given the USPTO choice between abandonment or continued administrative confusion on the matter, we simply opted for administrative abandonment until re-filing becomes necessary," he said. "To avoid confusion with the USPTO, Gearbox will be filing its future Brothers in Arms-related trademarks directly and individually."

To wit: Gearbox still owns Brothers in Arms. It should be noted, however, that Kotaku also directly inquired as to the status of Furious 4—if it was still under development, had not been delayed, would appear at E3, or if any development staff attached to the game had been laid off. Gearbox declined to answer those questions.

Rather than a dramatic retelling of events in World War II, Furious 4 is a more stylized and outlandish game, involving four characters with special traits and weapons on a kind of Howling Commandos-style mission inside Germany. More than one critic has called it an homage to Quentin Tarantino's film Inglourious Basterds.

I saw Furious 4 demonstrated by Gearbox at E3 last year. In an interview afterward, Ubisoft's Nouredine Abboud acknowledged Furious 4's divergence from what Brothers in Arms has come to mean, and told me the game was conceived mostly because Ubisoft did not want to go four years between games in the Brothers in Arms series.

The last Brothers in Arms game was 2008's Hell's Highway.

Whatever was bothering the Xbox Live Marketplace download of Max Payne 2, which some purchased to brush up on the series during Max Payne 3's release week, the problem is now over. Users report the title now downloads fully, which I just confirmed for myself.

If you bought the game and your download froze, go back to the Marketplace and select "download again." It should work fine. If you demanded and received a refund, check to see if you have the download-again option lit. Who knows, you might get a free game for your inconvenience.

Yesterday night, the world of TV comedy got a bit of a drama injection when news broke that Community showrunner Dan Harmon had been fired by Sony pictures Television.
Harmon had had a prickly relationship with his network overlords since the first season of the show, and will be replaced with David Guarascio and Moses Port, writers of the ABC series Happy Endings.

This morning, Harmon weighed in on the situation on his own blog with a funny, understandably upset rant indicating that not only was all of this news to him, but that none of the people involved in making the decision to remove him from the show he'd created had ever even talked to him about it.

"Why'd Sony want me gone?" he writes, "I can't answer that because I've been in as much contact with them as you have. They literally haven't called me since the season four pickup, so their reasons for replacing me are clearly none of my business. "

Harmon explains that though technically he still retains some sort of "executive consulting something or other" title, he wouldn't have any creative control over the show, and naturally, doesn't feel super awesome about that.

If I actually chose to go to the office, I wouldn't have any power there. Nobody would have to do anything I said, ever. I would be "offering" thoughts on other people's scripts, not allowed to rewrite them, not allowed to ask anyone else to rewrite them, not allowed to say whether a single joke was funny or go near the edit bay, etc. It's….not really the way the previous episodes got done. I was what you might call a….hands on producer. Are my….periods giving this enough….pointedness? I'm not saying you can't make a good version of Community without me, but I am definitely saying that you can't make my version of it unless I have the option of saying "it has to be like this or I quit" roughly 8 times a day.

Hilariously, Harmon then points out that that same contract would have allowed him to keep getting paid while doing anything he wants… including playing the ultra-violent catharsis simulator Prototype 2. Which he's been doing throughout this process.

The same contract also gives me the same salary and title if I spend all day masturbating and playing Prototype 2. And before you ask yourself what you would do in my situation: buy Prototype 2. It's fucking great.

Because Prototype 2 is great, and because nobody called me, and then started hiring people to run the show, I had my assistant start packing up my office days ago. I'm sorry.

Hey, there are certainly worse ways to deal with the fact that the show you created has been taken from you than playing super destructive, empowering video games. And as thursday's videogame-tastic episode demonstrated, Harmon certainly has more than a passing familiarity with the medium.

"Do not believe anyone that tells you on Monday that I quit or diminished my role so I could spend more time with my loved ones, or that I negotiated and we couldn't come to an agreement, etc," Harmon writes. "It couldn't be less true because, just to make this clear, literally nobody called me."

And if they had called him, he would probably would have answered. After all, he was totally just hanging out playing video games.

Dan Harmon Is No Longer Showrunner on Community [Vulture]

Hey, I Miss Anything? [Dan Harmon's Tumblr]