Available to the highest bidder on eBay right now is a modded 60GB PlayStation 3 system that has been completely reworked to the beauty you see above which, in addition to the lovely paint job, sports 15 white LEDs to light up the artwork, a modded Nyko PS3 controller with red backlit buttons, and the signatures of both series mastermind Hideo Kojima and Metal Gear Solid 4 voice actor Yumi Kikuchi.

In addition to the system itself, you’ll be getting a handful of other Metal Gear goodies, including launch day dog tags, a GA-KO alarm clock, custom embroidered Otacon patches, and other rare items.

15% of the final price will be going to Penny Arcade’s Child’s Play charity, so you won’t have to feel too terribly guilty about bidding. Of course, you will need to have a fair amount of cash handy to bid — with just under seven hours to go, the highest bid is currently $17,200. That’s a pretty penny (1,720,000 pretty pennies, to be exact), but hey — at least shipping is free.

Back in August when Sony announced the newest iteration of the PlayStation Portable, the PSP 3000, they announced two bundles that it would be available in: the Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters Entertainment Pack and the 4GB Memory Entertainment Pack. The Ratchet bundle, which is already available, includes a silver PSP, a copy of Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters on UMD, a 1GB memory stick, a copy of National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets on UMD, and a voucher to download Echochrome for free from the PlayStation Store. The 4GB bundle was scheduled to release in November and included a black PSP, a 4GB memory stick, and a voucher to download Everyday Shooter from the PlayStation Store. The price on both bundles were set at $200, with a standalone release of the PSP 3000 slated for $170 later this year.

Sony today announced that, after seeing the demand for the Ratchet bundle, they’ve decided to streamline their hardware lineup and kill off the 4GB bundle before it ever sees the light of day. A post on PlayStation.Blog says those interested in a 4GB memory stick can find one this Fall for an MSRP of $45 (or, for industrious folks who want a bargain, much cheaper and available right now). Beginning in December, the Ratchet bundle will begin to be offered with the standard ‘piano black’ PSP inside rather than the current silver system.

While the recent scan line issues have had me a bit nervous about investing in a PSP 3000, I was interested enough in the 4GB bundle that I planned on buying one anyway. After all, I already own Echochrome, I don’t care about movies on UMD, and I want a black PSP. Judging by the comments on the story on PlayStation.Blog, I wasn’t the only one holding out for the 4GB bundle. Looks like I’ll be sticking with my PSP 2000 for a bit longer than I thought I would be.

Logitech is a brand name that most people are familiar with, and considering the fact that they make some really cool products it should come as no surprise to anyone that they have decided to try their hand with creating premium music peripherals. Therefore, today when they announced the Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller, Premiere Edition for the PS2 and PS3 versions of the Guitar Hero franchise, I did not bat an eye. That is, until I saw the thing.

The first premiere peripheral has been licensed by Activision for all Guitar Hero games, yes this includes Guitar Hero: World Tour, and features metal frets and peg handles, a rosewood fingerboard, a wooden neck, and it is wireless of course. The authentic look and feel of the guitar is rounded out by the one-piece contoured shape with a sleek and shiny crimson body.

In addition, rubber dome technology has been introduced to the peripheral to cut down on fret noise, and a New Touch-Sensitive Neck Slider has been incorporated so that users will not always have to keep strumming and can also be used to create a wide variety of sounds via World Tour’s Music Studio. It will take two AA batteries to run it, and the guitar comes complete with a “gig bag” so it won’t get scratched up during transport should you decide to take it out of the house. The gig bag includes space for your discs and wireless receivers.

Speaking of which, the peripheral comes equipped with a USB receiver to plug into your console and works with 2.4GHz wireless communication so that you can move up to 30 feet away from your console should you decide to go into full-out rock star mode.

Ruben Mookerjee, Logitech’s director of gaming product marketing stated that:

“There’s no better feeling than being the guy with the best instrument when you walk into your friend’s house to jam on Guitar Hero. We designed this guitar for that experience. From the humbucker to the metal frets, the whammy bar to the metal tuners, the Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller gives you the credibility you rightfully deserve.”

The guy with the biggest instrument? Is that like the comparison of driving a Porsche to a beat-up Chevy truck? You can draw your own conclusions, but even Charles Huang who is vice president of business development for RedOctane feels that:

“With this new controller, Logitech is giving Guitar Hero fans the opportunity to unleash their inner rock stars in a new, authentic way.”

“Authentic” may be stretching it because it is after all not a real guitar. However, the price is pretty authentic, because the suggested retail price of the peripheral is $249.99. While that is one very sexy guitar, it’s just too bad it costs so damn much. But, how much really is too much if you can afford it and want to be the coolest faux-shredder on the block?

Start scrimping now folks, write a letter to Santa or start relentlessly begging your parents because the Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller, Premiere Edition will be hitting select retail stores in December, just in time for Christmas.

If you are currently an owner of the Rage Wireless Guitar for your Wii you may wish to turn it off, put it down and run as far away from it as possible because it may just burn you, and not in the way Hendrix would have wanted.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a recall for the Rage Wireless Guitar in the States because the peripheral has a defective circuit board that can cause the AA batteries to leak, which could result in a nasty chemical burn from the battery acid.

Designed specifically for use on the Wii, the description provided by the CPSC states that the guitar is “blue or white, 31 inches long with battery operated LED-lighted fret buttons that go up the neck of the guitar”. It was sold at specialty stores and in mass merchandisers nationwide and would have cost anywhere from $40-60 each, were manufactured in China and it is estimated that 57,000 have been sold so far. One Consumer has already been harmed by the faulty device, so if you happen to own one of these peripherals you are being urged by the CPSC to return it to the store in which it was purchased immediately for a full refund.

The Rage Wireless Guitar is manufactured by Performance Designed Products (PDP) and if you purchased of of these and have any questions or concerns you are welcome to contact the company by phone at (800) 331-3844 between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site by hitting the link above.

PDP also make other guitar peripherals for the Wii, but at this point it is safe to say that if you purchased the Wii Wireless Ally & AJ Guitar, you are safe – even if you have zero taste in peripherals.

Just in case there was any confusion over yesterday’s announcement regarding Microsoft’s Xbox 360 memory upgrades, the gaming giant confirmed to Videogaming247 this morning that gamers in Europe who own the non-HD 360 will get the upgrade as well.

Just like in the States, you will need 128Mb of memory to run the New Xbox Experience, and will able to choose fro the following options:

General

• Active Live members with no storage or with a 64mb MU: Offered 512mb for free or 20GB HDD for £12.99
• Active Live members with 256 or 512 MU but no HDD: Offered 20GB HDD for £12.99
• Console has not connected to XBL 12 month and doesn’t possess MU: Offered 20gb HDD and 3 month Xbox Live £19.99

Arcade console

• Active Live subscribers without a HDD: Offered 20gb HDD for £12.99
• Non active Live subscriber without a HDD and not connected to XBL within 12 months: 20gb HDD + 3 month Xbox Live for £19.99

Just like American versions, you will need to go here to input your console’s serial number to find out if it is eligible for an upgrade.

ExtremeTech has overhauled its Bang for the Buck PC Build guide to present gamers with a formula for building a rig that will perform without breaking their budget. What makes this collaborative effort different from past articles is that the article will show you how to a system comprised of bang for the buck components. The results are guidelines for a highly customizable system that includes the latest tech advances like blu-ray and 64 bit computing.

PC titles are not all as demanding on your system as Crysis. However games are still pushing PCs to their limits and beyond at an incredible pace. Brand new gaming rigs go from shiny to holding their own to obsolete so quickly you don’t have the time or money to keep up. With some know how and a modest amount of cash you can have a PC that will give you the performance you crave.

Once again, amid recent rumors stemmed from a report issued by Xbit Labs, Microsoft has denied that they are working on an external Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360. Speaking to Major Nelson during a TGS podcast, Aaron Greenberg director of product management for Xbox 360, reiterated the company’s belief that the future is digital by siting their recent deal with Netflix and stating that they will not “force” gamers to purchase a product that they do not want.

As transcribed by Videogaming247:

“We believe that we shouldn’t force people to pay for things they don’t want. We also believe that the future’s digital, and that’s why we’ve invested in a massive library of entertainment content, that’s why we’re bringing things like Netflix to members in the US, that’s why we’re growing our library in Europe, that’s why we’re adding all type of entertainment experiences around the world.”

Greenberg also stated in the podcast that in the future, people will be laughing about Blu-ray and will even coin the phrase “I got Blu-rayed”. I wonder if that is opposed to “I got HD-DVDed”? That format is pretty much going the way of dinosaur now, and this argument is no different than the Beta/VHS slamming that consumers were embroiled in the 80’s. However, Greenspan never mentions the failed HD-DVD external drive for the Xbox 360, and never mentioned the failure of that product either.

During the podcast, Greenberg also mentioned “Blur-ray is not the next DVD” and as far as availability and retail sales, Blu-ray does not have much of a selection to offer consumers and what is there goes for a premium price.

“No one knows what Blu-ray will be. It’s pretty clear it’s not the next DVD, right? The days of one physical format being the standard are gone. I went to Sony’s booth, and it used to be that their whole booth was Blu-ray. It just keeps shrinking down. Now it’s just this little corner and there’s no one there and it’s like, there’s a heart sign and it’s got ‘Blu-ray’ and some movies. It’s interesting.”

Unless one is a true psychic or has a time machine, there is no way of knowing if Blu-ray is or isn’t the future of entertainment. It is true that digital distribution is becoming more and more popular in this day and age, but the majority of the world’s population has yet to jump on that particular bandwagon. Until every home has the ability to get fast internet connectivity or a cable/satellite system, people will still be purchasing DVDs or Blu-ray to watch movies. It is shocking to know that there are still people out there who use dial-up and purchase VHS tapes and this does not mean that they are behind the times, just that finances or availability do not dictate staying with the times.

Until everyone is able to invest in the same technology, there will always be options as to how you will be able to get your games and movies; therefore there will never be “just one” winner in the format wars.

Ever since Microsoft stopped producing external HD-DVD drives for the Xbox 360, rumors have been floating around in abundance that the gaming giant would go Blu-ray in the future.  Despite the company repeatedly stating that they have no plans to go Blu-ray nor feeling the need to do so, and then turning around and saying that they “might” if the demand were high enough, a report released by Xbit Labs this morning seems to have put all of this to bed.

According to the report, Toshiba – who have long held out on making Blu-ray players – won the contract through Tobsiba-Samsung Storage Technology to manufacture an external Blu-ray drive for the console. It was no secret to those following the HD-DVD/Blu-ray debate last year that Microsoft was unimpressed with the technology because of BD-Java support, therefore they opted to go with HD instead. When HD died in the water, it looked like Sony would be the eventual winner due to their PS3 being one of the best and cheapest Blu-ray players on the market. However, now that Blu-ray has won the day despite slow sales of the product, Microsoft is going to support the technology so that they can continue to compete with Sony’s advantage in that particular niche.

While specifications and a release date have yet to emerge, the rumor is that Microsoft plan on putting a $100 – $150 price tag on the external drive, and will release an Xbox 360 + external Blu-ray drive combination in stores. While neither Microsoft nor Toshiba-Samsung have made any comments regarding this report, it has left Xbit Labs to speculate that Microsoft will forgo releasing the new add-on during the holiday season and instead opt to unveil it during the Consumer Electronics Show next year.

If this report is to be believed, and at this point there is no reason not to, it only proves that even though Microsoft plans on eventually moving their gaming business towards a digital download model the future, they still want a piece of the same pie every one else is getting. Microsoft’s key-note speech at the Tokyo Game Show is tomorrow and hopefully they will announce a denial or admission regarding the Blu-ray add-on. So keep your eyes peeled and check back with us as 1UP is in Japan all week covering TGS. Also, be sure to check out our TGS hub page for all the latest news, previews, videos, and everything else from across the ocean.

One of the most significant announcements to come out of Nintendo’s otherwise abysmal E3 press conference (and even this was announced before the conference) was the Wii MotionPlus. With this adapter, which attaches to the bottom end of the Wiimote, the controller will be capable of a 1:1 response to the user’s movement. Great, right? But there’s one nagging question about MotionPlus that we raised immediately after it was first announced: Why wasn’t this technology in the Wiimote from the beginning?

As we’ve now learned, it all comes down to cost. Chatting with VentureBeat about the MotionPlus, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime explained that Nintendo was aware of the technology while designing the Wii but implementing it would have proven too costly for the business model Nintendo was looking to employ. “By waiting about three years, the costs come down substantially and it becomes a viable product,” he offered.

While it excites us to know the Wii will be capable of more precise controls, it’s difficult to avoid wondering if it was the right move to make. The MotionPlus will segment the Wii’s market and potentially cause confusion among the casual crowd — the same audience that Nintendo has to thank for returning it to the position of top dog in the videogame hardware biz. What do you think; is it a wise decision to add this functionality in or should Nintendo have waited for its next system to give gamers a 1:1 control experience? Let your voice be heard in the comments below.

Xbox 360’s with the newly integrated Jasper chipset have been spotted in stores and on the Internet. The Jasper motherboard and improved graphics chip is Microsoft’s latest solution to the console’s on going woes with the infamous Red Ring of Death. Both GPU and CPU chips are 65nm drawing less power which will have the new build running quieter and cooler than previous 360 models.

According to JOEyGADGET, if you’re looking to pick up one of the new 360 builds you’re going to have to keep your eye out for a manufacture date (MFR) as early as 2008-08-06, Lot 8031 and up, and Team CSON.