In2Games, developer of motion sensing gaming technology for the PS3 and Xbox 360, has released the first picture of their 360/PS3 motion controller. The Wii Nunchuck-like Gametrak Freedom is described as, “a remarkable ultrasonic 3D motion sensing technology which delivers performance, control and flexibility far in excess of that offered by existing technologies.”

In other words, they seem to be claiming that it beats a Wii-Mote. The device can be used with the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles, and features “proprietary and cutting-edge patent-pending ultrasonic technology to provide a true motion capture gaming experience. Unlike other motion sensing gaming systems, Gametrak Freedom accurately tracks the true 3D position and precise movements of up to four players, anywhere within a given environment, giving total control and unrivaled game play opportunities.” We’ll see what kind of software shows up for this device. For now the only game to make use of the controller is Squeeballs.

You can choose from many skins for your PS3, some cool, some tacky. But if you really want to feel like you are in the center of a horror movie, the Screaming Skull Protective Mask Cover may be for you. It makes your PS3 look like a screaming skull that’s trying to burst it’s way out and kill you dead. Which is totally original. I mean we haven’t seen that in a hundred movies.

It’s probably good for some Halloween gaming though. And you can tell your little brother that this is what happens to the souls of those who lose to you. The Screaming Skull Protective Mask Cover retails for only $10.99.

Good news PS3 fans, the wireless keypad we told you about the other day is available for pre-order now at Amazon for $49.99. Where it states “This item will be released on November 30, 2008.”

The wireless keyboard even comes with a touchpad mode that allows for mouse input, which may be used in future game development. The QWERTY keypad snaps over the center of DualShock 3 and SIXAXIS controllers and aparently has it’s own Bluetooth connection and power source.

Sony has been busy. There’s the new PSP and PS3 wireless keyboard, and Sony also announced a 160GB PS3 today at the Leipzig Games Convention. Here in the U.S. it will come bundled with a Dual-Shock SIXAXIS and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. It will arrive in November just in time for under the Xmas tree at $499.

The console itself looks like it’s the same as previous PS3s. The U.S. version will also come with a voucher for the PS Network game PAIN, while the European version includes €70 of free downloadable content vouchers. No word on whether it will be released seperate from the bundle. We’ll just have to wait and see.

At its Leipzig Games Convention press conference today, Sony unveiled a new wireless keypad peripheral that attaches to the top of your PlayStation 3 controller. It snaps into the mini-USB port and can be paired with phones and other gadgets through Bluetooth. The keypad also has a “touchpad mode” for mouse input. No word on pricing yet, but the device will apparently be released in 8 different languages in November.

Sony just announced that Playstation Network users will now have the ability to rent and buy movies and TV shows. They aren’t wasting any time either. The service gets switched on TONIGHT. And it’s more then just bland Sony content, with content from Fox, MGM, Lions Gate, Warner, Disney, Paramount, Turner, and Funimation. TV pricing starts at $1.99, while movies will cost $9.99 - $14.99, with rentals costing $2.99 - $5.99. The videos can even be downloaded to your PS3 and watched on multiple PSPs. Video is available in both SD and HD. Pretty nice!

Forget the 40GB PS3 model. It’s being pushed aside and will be collecting dust in September. It will be replaced by another version thanks to Sony’s “Gentlemen, we can rebuild it” bionic console attitude. The 80GB model is back. It’s being called the Core Pack and has “the same functionality” as the 40GB model, with double the storage for the same price of $399. We think that means no backwards compatibility. This should make PS3 fans very happy.

According to the Sony Playstation blog, the company has released firmware version 2.41 for the Playstation 3 which is expected to be a smoother update than the 2.40 version they released last week and had to pull shortly after. Apparently some folks who installed the 2.40 version experienced problems getting to the XMB when booting up and were stuck with a bricked console, at least temporarily.

We had heard that Sony would get a fix for the 2.40 firmware out sometime this week and their blog entry late last night said it would be available shortly. According to a number of reports the 2.41 version is available now with much, much fewer problems.

Both the 2.40 and the 2.41 firmware updates for the Playstation 3 game console bring some new features including in-game access to the XMB and a new Trophy system …

The latest firmware 2.40 put out just Tuesday for the Sony Playstation 3 was apparently pulled shortly after its release due to multiple reported problems caused by the update. If you’ve already gotten the update and things are working fine you are one of the lucky ones, otherwise if you seem to be faced with a bricked console you’ll need to be getting in touch with Sony support or possibly trying to fix it yourself.

Sony confirmed Wednesday that they had official pulled the available update within an hour after its release due to the reported problems, which they say were experienced by a “limited” number of PS3 gamers. The most common problem appears to be that the console gets “stuck” when booting and doesn’t get past that “wave” background display, never reaching the XMB. Some argue that formatting the PS3 hard disk will fix the problem which you can attempt, but at your own risk.

Sony has released an update to it’s corporate strategy through 2010. It talks about initiatives to move Sony from recovery to the “leading global provider of networked consumer electronics and entertainment.” The most welcome short term news is that Sony will have a movie download service available to US PlayStation 3 owners this summer.

Japan and Europe will have to wait until later for once. More details should be coming “next month,” probably at E3. As far as Sony’s gaming business, they expect it to be profitable by March 2009, the end of this fiscal year. There you go, summer. You won’t have to wait as long as you thought.

The rumor reads like a scene from the gaming X-Files. Supposedly, a small group of PS3 owners were taken to a secret location in California where they got their chance to test a new Sony item. Not something made from alien technology, but a PS3 remote that mimics the Nintendo Wiimote.

Participants apparently enjoyed minigames like tennis, fencing and paintball. One source says one of the gamers spotted a “PS3 Fit” and was immediately mind wiped and carted away. Ok, I made that last bit up, but the rest is true. We think. The players also got to see some Quake on a laptop while using the device. Apparently, Sony has a long way to go before all the bugs are worked out

If you were hoping to somehow get your hands on that gun metal gray Metal Gear Solid 4 Playstation 3 bundle, here’s your chance. Konami has issued a press release showing that they exclusively will have a 40GB MGS4 PS3 bundle available for North American with the pre-sell starting on May 19th. This is not the same as the 80GB bundle we had talked about last month but a new offering available only from Konami.

The package comes with a Gun Metal Gray, 40GB Playstation 3, a matching wireless dualshock controller, Metal Gear Online, a Blu-ray disc with 2 hours of exclusive additional content and the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Limited Edition game. The bundle is priced at $599.99 and will only go while supplies last so if you want one of these you’ll want to keep on top of this offer. In fact, you can add it to your Wish List on the Konami site now to keep up with the offer.

SONY just announced release dates for the long-awaited PlayTV add-on for the PS3 and Go!View video service for the PSP. PlayTV will allow the PS3’s hard drive to record TV shows thanks to it’s dual TV tuners. The included software has a 7-day programming guide, and recorded programs can be viewed remotely over Wi-Fi or transferred to the PSP.

SONY’s Go!View video service for the PSP will be subscription-based or on a pay-per-view system. Users can download TV content to their PSP from a dedicated website.

When we heard news that Sony and Konami where launching a Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3 in Japan we of course wanted one but new that this was probably one of those cool, Japan-only things that we would never actually see here in the U.S. But, as it turns out Sony is going to be launching this gun metal colored PS3 console in the United States.

Unfortunately it sounds like this release will be a very limited edition in the U.S., so we probably still won’t get our hands on one but at least now there’s a better chance. The MGS4 PS3 along with its matching DualShock 3 controller has a U.S. launch date of June 12 and will come bundled with the game and the standard 80GB PS3.

Just in case of the off chance that you hadn’t been gaming all last night, that 2.20 firmware update for the PS3 is now available. Along with some minor changes and tweaks the big news for this update is the BD-Live interactive content for Blu-ray 2.0. It looks like most of the updates revolve around media and web. Unfortunately there does not appear to be any sign of the portable copy to get Blu-ray movies on your PSP that we heard rumors of, or at least not in this version.

Thanks for the heads up, Josh.