“I never do anything half way. My AXE controller is the closest thing you can have to being onstage in KISS. I created and designed the Gene Simmons AXE bass guitar and I can’t wait for the fans to experience it for themselves. The Gene Simmons AXE guitar is such a recognizable symbol – people have been asking for a gaming replica ever since Guitar Hero was first introduced.”

This fully equipped, axe-shaped guitar controller is a replica of the KISS bassist and vocalist’s signature bass guitar. The AXE controller is personally certified by the Rock God himself, Gene Simmons, to give players that Rock Star experience. The wireless AXE guitar controller is a three-quarter-sized replica of the original Gene Simmons AXE guitar and larger than the standard video game guitar controllers. Customized with a replicated paint finish of the original guitar, the Axe guitar controller features Gene Simmons autograph and his photo in make-up painted onto the body of the controller. Interactive Game Group Founder, Fred Chesnais commented:

“Gene Simmons is the Rock Lord and the Gene Simmons AXE bass guitar is an integral part of his signature look. Bringing this Axe controller to life was an incredible journey, and I am sure every player will enjoy it.”

The Axe Guitar is available for PS2, PS3 and Nintendo Wii, but no love for Xbox 360 players and will retail at $79.99.

The new touches come as an upgrade to Folding(at)home, an earlier PS3 feature that benefits Stanford University’s protein research project. Users donate a bit of their PS3’s processing power when they’re not gaming to help researchers study the effects of protein folding on diseases.

Using the new program, “Life with PlayStation,” Sony makes the effort more interactive. A PlayStation owner can now use the game controller to soar around a glowing Earth and zoom in to nearly 60 major cities for headlines and weather reports.

Google Inc. provides the headlines in the bottom corner of the screen. When a headline is selected and clicked, a browser launches and navigates to the full story.

The Weather Channel provides the temperatures for each city and the University of Wisconsin even chipped in with detailed cloud cover data to give the slowly spinning globe more realism.

Users will be happier with the webcam views — which include wide shots of urban districts in San Francisco and Berlin — if they’ve got a big display: It’s fairly lackluster on screens 27 inches or smaller.

The new features should complement Sony’s upcoming avatar-based virtual world called PlayStation Home. Currently in closed beta testing, PlayStation Home lets people meet, chat and plan gaming and non-gaming activities.

Sony brings visual add-on to PlayStation 3 – Yahoo! News