Fire Axis has announced it with lotsa fanfare (Fall 2010):
http://www.firaxis.com/games/game_detai … d=41#press
Soon the Eroge Empire of Erotica will rule the world, from 4000 BC and beyond! 
I’m gonna need a new computer it seems.
Oh. Hell. Yes.
I’m already planning on building a new machine as soon as test numbers are in for Nvidia’s newest cards, which will supposedly be out in March according to reports. I would have already purchased the parts and built a new machine last month if not for the ATI/AMD card I really wanted to use being impossible to find due to problems at the fab late last year.
As for the game, it looks quite interesting. While I quite enjoy playing the Civ series, I would probably be even more interested if I could ever win a game. While I can be quite good at thinking tactically, my mind struggles with thinking strategically it seems. For example, I can look at a chess game beyond a certain point and figure out what and how many moves it takes to reach checkmate, but I can’t for the life of me understand how to set up that situation, especially the first move. This is probably one reason I play action type games drastically more than strategy games (in fact, the Civ series is essentially the only strategy game I play on my computer, at least that I can remember).
Generally since Civ2 its gone downhill focusing more on eye-candy than gameplay and balance. That said hex maps are better than squares, but still not as good as point-to-point movement systems (which modern strategy games can handle).
Have to disagree with you on that. I think adding elements like national boundaries and civics in the place of government have added immensely to gameplay. Also, ludicrous military results happen less often than they did in earlier versions.
omg civ 5, win.
I think the full name of this game should be, Civilization 5: Rise of the Lolicon Protectorate. 
I have to say, I’m a bit concerned about the revisions to the combat system. Unless they drastically, drastically increase the size of the maps, allowing only one unit per hex is going to be ridiculous, and ranged units shooting into the next hex is going to be like standing in Manhattan and shooting someone in Philadelphia. I’m glad I prefer peaceful tech victories, because this sounds like a total immersion killer to me.
Well it’s been out for a little more than a week and while I’ve only been playing it for a few days I’ve found it to be quite a nice change. I like not having to worry about religion and health/pollution. The combat has actually been pretty interesting so far, just like in real life a smaller force with better training (experience) and an advantage in terrain can trounce a much larger force, although once multiple people have artillery things become a bit more dicey. The ranged units do seem a bit silly even in huge maps, but because they need LOS they rarely get to shoot 2 hexes away unless they are on a hill.
On a side note, Japan is crazy overpowered militarily. Fighting at full strength regardless of actual strength is pretty ridiculous, especially early on.
I miss religions, but I really like the expanded civics/social policies. The ranged combat is failing to annoy me as much as I expected. I am surprised we don’t get a victory cut scene, and I still miss being able to view your cities, a la Civs 1 and 2. On the whole though, it’s a lot better than I feared.