Microsoft has literally taken over the Viceroy Santa Monica hotel for its E3 meetings. The lobby has been transformed into a media check-in area and Microsoft greeters on every floor say "hi" to you as you exit the elevator and look for your entry sticker to make sure you're not anywhere you're not supposed to be. On the way to the media check-in counter, I noticed that Microsoft had the new Microsoft Xbox 360 controller colors and chat pad keyboard accessory on display along with the wheel and black Elite controllers in the lobby.

　　The new color controllers will ship in October for $49, but availability will vary by region. The pink and dark blue controllers will be available in North America, Australia, and New Zealand, but the light blue controller will only be available in Asia, Europe, and Japan.

　　Microsoft also announced that the Xbox 360 Messenger Kit will ship on September, 6th for $29. The package includes an Xbox 360 headset and the keyboard Chatpad. All the controllers in the display are tied down with wire, but the Chatpads aren't secured very tightly--they probably would have disappeared by day two in past E3s.