You can see the usual Xbox 360 box art banner above. Say goodbye, dear readers, because Microsoft is preparing to replace it. With what? you ask.

Behold! This is the dawn of a new era, of a bold new direction, of oh let’s face it this is kind of lame. But there you have it, folks. If you check out the Amazon pages for Kane and Lynch 2 or Mafia II you can see the new banner in action (although the latter game only shows the new art on the Collector’s Edition for some strange reason). Let us know what you think.

Folks that download and play the new Green Day: Rock Band demo on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network will be greeted with this screen upon completion:

Notice the new instrument icon at the end? Looks like Rock Band 3 will include a keyboard/piano instrument. Hopefully this isn’t what Harmonix means when they say Rock Band 3 will shake things up. How does adding the ability to play A Flock of Seagulls change rhythm gaming? I’m not saying I don’t want to rock out to “I Ran (So Far Away)”—I’d love to, actually—but I hope Harmonix has more up its sleeve for the third RB installment.

UPDATE: Ars Technica’s oft-reliable industry source claims the new instrument will not be a keyboard. Instead, it will be a keytar. The source also claims that all Rock Band 3 instruments will be exclusively designed by Mad Catz and will likely be more realistic.

I think a keyboard would be easier to learn than a keytar, but maybe I just don’t want to look like a washed out former member of a glam metal band. What do you folks prefer—keytar or keyboard?

I spent too much time coming up with a title for this article. Yuck.

So, what is this Sonic Colors thing? It’s a new game for Nintendo Wii and the DS. The Wii version will combine 2D and 3D gameplay while the DS incarnation will make use of both screens. That’s pretty much all we know.

There’s also this early trailer that doesn’t include anything remotely useful. Check it out and begin theorizing how badly this will suck. I mean, it is Sonic after all.