That’s right kiddies, Microsoft wasn’t just their to pimp their games and XNA — they had new toys to play with too!

Pictured above are the weakest entry in this years line up, pink and blue 360 controllers. PR was pitching them to me as handy to have if you have a lot of four player gaming going on and you want to know whose controller is whose — I didn’t have the heart to tell them that the ring on the controller can do the same thing without making me look like a little pink princess.

Luckily, everything else on display in the accessories part of town was reeking of awesomeness (and completely devoid of pastel colours) — like the Messenger Kit.

The Messenger Kit, for those of you not in the know, is a little keypad that pops onto the bottom of your 360 controller to make chatting sans-headset a lot easier. If you use MSN Messenger like I do, this thing is a godsend. After getting a little hands on time with it, I can honestly say it works better than expected. It’s light, it doesn’t seem to get in the way of your regular controls, and best of all, typing on it instantly feels like second nature. Combine all of that with the fact that it ships with a spare headset, is perfectly backlit, and has an MSRP of only $29.99 USD, how in the hell do you not buy it? It’s going to be in stores next week — September 5th to be exact. Well worth picking up.

Elsewhere in the town of awesome, I was lucky enough to handle the limited edition Halo 3 wireless controllers. Complete with art by Todd McFarlane and a kick ass figurine, these things feel like heaven smells. Seriously. I got some face time in on the Halo 3 demo (shh.. don’t tell anyone I played it - it’s bad for my anti-Halo rep) with one of these bad boys, and I can honestly say that the smooth plastic texture is a joy to hold in your hands. Leaps and bounds better than the standard controller.

If they’d ship non-Halo controllers like that, I’d buy one in a heartbeat. But we all know my feelings on Halo. Que sera.

Speaking of Halo, I thought I’d save the best for last, thes best being the Halo 3 wireless headset. What’s so great about it asides from being repainted in a groovy military green? It ships with a USB charging cable, that’s what. So unlike the original wireless headset that required you to free up an AC outlet, this bad boy can plug straight into your 360, just like a Play and Charge Kit.

A pretty good showing all in all in accessory plaza. Planning on picking any of these up?