Hasta La Gadget!

Remember the Power Glove, that controller for the NES that looked so cool when it debuted in The Wizard, but ultimately proved an unusable, if neat looking, piece of over-priced plastic? Well, the Peregrine isn’t that. I mean, both game controllers built into gloves, sure, but the similarities seem to stop there.

Manufactured by a company of the same name, The Peregrine doesn’t offer the gesture-based control the Power Glove promised. Rather the device is designed to offer a quick way for PC gamers to access their keyboard hotkeys without actually having to touch their keyboard.

The device has a number of built-in sensors. Touching combinations together will trigger a specific hotkey action. A total of 30 actions can be programmed into the controller. The Peregrine will arrive in Fall 2009. Pre-order is not yet available.

When Sony announced the latest version of its PlayStation Portable during its E3 press conference yesterday, the company laughingly referred to it as “the worst kept secret at E3 2009,” which was basically true. Rumors about and pictures of the device have been floating around the blogosphere for months–and now that the PSP Go has been confirmed, it turns out that most of them were spot on.

The PSP Go has 16GB of internal Flash memory, built-in Wi-Fi, and integrated Bluetooth. It’ll be arriving in stores in October, for $249. I managed to finagle my way into the roped-off portion of Sony’s booth on the second day of E3 ito get some solo hands-on time with the device.

After the jump, check out exclusive video and more photos of the PSP Go.

New York’s CTA Digital makes video games accessories–and lately, the company has taken a particular liking to the sort of versatility afforded by the Wii’s gesture-based controllers. CTA has created a skateboard, a bowling bowl, and a rifle for the Nintendo console. Its latest accessory is designed specifically for the Wii’s recent reboot of the Punchout franchise.

The closely–but not too closely–named Knockout Boxing Gloves for the Wii slip over the player’s hand and encase the Wiimote and Nunchuk. The gloves are available now and also work with Wii Sports Boxing, Victorious Boxers: Revolution, FaceBreaker K.O. Party, and Ready 2 Rumble: Revolution.

If you manage to make it to the back of the L.A. Convention Center, past all the bright flashing lights of the gigantic booths from Microsoft and Activision and Nintendo, you’ll find a small collective of independent game designers: folks like Diana Hughes. A recent USC grad, Hughes is showing off her MFA thesis, Pluff.

Pluff is a fuzzy little game controller–make him happy or annoy him and you’ll affect his on-screen digital counterpart. Pluff’s not available commercially, but Hughes is in talks with game developers about bringing him to market. His creator has also spoken to hospitals about how Pluff might be able to help kids with autism and other conditions.

You can check more Pluff over at Hughes’ home page.

At its E3 press conference today, Sony brought out Metal Gear designer Hideo Kojima to announce the release of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker for the PSP. The game is being described as a “true sequel” to Metal Gear Solid 3, taking place ten years after its predecessor, in the 1970s.

Kojima assured the room at the Shrine Auditorium that he will be fully participating in the “missing link” to the Metal Gear Solid series, writing the script and producing the game.

Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker will be arriving in 2010.