Ever since Activision convinced everyone and their mothers to purchase $40 of plastic to accompany their video games, peripherals have been completely in style. It's not a new phenomenon - Nintendo pumped them out at a nearly constant rate for the NES - but it's never been as much of a part of gaming as it is now. Rock Band, Singstar, Guitar Hero, and even the next Tony Hawk require people to clutter their living room with hunks of randomness. Recently, THQ has confirmed that they're working on a peripheral of their own, but they aren't ready to go into too many details.

THQ's Chief Executive Brian Farrell gave the following non-description of the device:

"We have something that we think is different from anything else out there and will give us a competitive advantage. Beyond that, we can't say much."

So, what could it be? THQ is known to be working on a sequel to de Blob, so it could be some sort of addition for that, but the Wii version worked well without any motion beyond the Wiimote. In that same sense, it's likely for either the PS3 or 360, since THQ seems pretty fine using the Wii's motion on its own.

Maybe an attachment for a fighting game or an RTS controller to bring Company of Heroes to consoles? It wouldn't be surprising at all, and I'm shocked no one has done it yet. Anyone have any other thoughts?

[LA Business Journal via Kotaku]