Source: An article on SPOnG recounts scuttlebutt that Sony was playing possum with the boomerang-style PlayStation 3 controller and that the final design of the controller could be revealed at January's Consumer Electronics Show.

　　The official story: A Sony spokesperson told GameSpot, "We have made no announcements regarding the PS3 controller, so any reports to the contrary are purely speculation."

　　What we heard: At first, CES seems as good a place as any to unveil the final design of the PS3 controller. If you consider Sony's announced spring 2006 release of the PlayStation 3, May's E3 2006 would be a bit late for a coming out party, and there's no bigger trade show in the meantime. There's even some precedent for a CES unveiling, as Sony revealed part of its American PSP launch plans at this year's CES in January. Combine that with the fact that Sony admitted the controller shown at this year's E3 was not a final design, and this rumor might have some grain of truth to it. Sony might well have been putting it out there to judge public reaction to the controller, and given that the reaction has been generally negative, it might be time for a complete overhaul. Right?

　　Probably not. First of all, Sony Computer Entertainment corporate executive and chief technical officer Masayuki Chatanai told Famitsu after the E3 unveiling that the controller might undergo "minor changes" but that the form factor would probably stay the same. And if Sony wanted feedback on the controller, why didn't it let E3 attendees get their hands on it? And what would Sony have to gain by "fooling" the competition with a phony controller at E3 when Nintendo's Revolution controller was already purported to be something radically different, in addition to the fact that Microsoft had already unveiled the 360's glorified Controller S pad?

　　You may not like the PS3 pad, and what you've seen so far may not be exactly it, but don't expect any kind of "Revolutionary" redesign on it before the system launches. Maybe a trigger here or some tweaked hand grips there, but it'll still look right at home hanging from a bright yellow utility belt.

　　Bogus or not bogus?: Holy Bogus, Batman!