Hasta La Gadget!

If various rumors are to be believed, the 2009 E3 gaming convention, happening June 2 to 4, is shaping up to be a pretty big event for Sony. First we heard recently that the company is set to unveil the long-awaited update to the PSP during the show, and now the word on the Web is that the company will also be showing off a new motion-based based controller.

The controller has been the talk of the blogs for a while now–a little over two years, in fact. Sony’s patent for the device first popped up in January 2007, and was largely regarded as the company’s attempt to compete with the runaway success of the Wii.

Sony has reportedly been actively soliciting publishers to create games that utilize the new technology. Sony, however, isn’t saying a word to the press.

The concrete details of Sony’s latest–and most significant–update to the PSPwill come at E3 in June, according to “sources directly involved with the new system.” The console has also reportedly been named: Sony will be calling it the PSP Go, in keeping with a recent line of add-ons for the European PSP brand. This information comes from 1up, which says it has confirmed these details with said sources.

The PSP Go, set to arrive in Japan in September and in the States in the months following, will do away with the UMD slot, as expected. Sony, however, will be making available more than 100 older PSP titles for download on the system (Gran Turismo Mobile is among those named).

1Up adds:

As for the hardware itself, the redesign will include a d-pad, analog nub, and face buttons as part of a sliding unit sticking out below the screen (as seen in our mockup above). Unfortunately for those looking for twin-stick shooter controls, the new system will not have a second analog stick, but instead will remain consistent with the current control configuration.

Sony, not surprisingly, isn’t commenting.

Codemasters, the game developers responsible for the TOCA series, DiRT, and Grid, have obtained the rights to create a new series of F1 racing games, according to Autoblog. That means that while previous games in the F1 series were only available to Sony console owners (PS2, PS3, and PSP), the new series should be across all platforms.

The first game in the series, F1 2009, will be available for the Nintendo Wii and Sony PSP–nothing earth-shaking there. But for 2010, the game will be in high definition format and be available for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, and also hook into online gaming communities for head-to-head competition over the Internet, according to the report.

The new series will include the latest car tech, including kinetic energy recovery systems (KERS), the latest aerodynamics rules, and simulations of newly constructed tracks in Valencia, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore, the article said. Get those gaming wheels ready.

Microsoft will launch the Xbox 360 Game of the Year bundle sometime in May, the company said by way of its “Major Nelson” blog on Monday.

It’s a pretty simple deal: a Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite, bundled with Halo 3 and Fable II, all for $399. As Major Nelson points out, that’s the normal price of the Elite — meaning that the games are included for free.

Bad news for Europeans, however: the deal will be offered everywhere but there; there was no explanation given. There’s also the question of how many gamers out there want both an Xbox 360 Elite but don’t own either game.

“Major Nelson” is the blog name of Larry Hyrb, the Microsoft director of programming for Xbox Live.

At least they didnt send out the horse heads as originally planned. Electronic Arts is in some hot water this week, after sending out a promotional pack of questionable legality. The packages, sent out to review sites and blogs to promote the companys second Godfather game included a set of promotional brass knuckles–a weapon illegal in Canada and many U.S. states.

EA has since begun advising recipients to dispose of the brass knuckles. No word on repercussions for parties that dont oblige, but lets just consider this an offer they cant refuse.