The Sony HQ in Japan recently filed a patent for "TouchEngine" which, from what it seems, could be used in a variety of hardware ranging from, mobile phones, gaming controllers, to audio/video media devices. With the PSP Go and the PS3 motion controller well on their way, will this pave the way for Sony's next piece of hardware? More details after the jump.

The PS3 may have lost its throne to the DSi in the Japanese hardware charts this week, but the PS3 blog has continued to see big news. We saw a spat between the BBC and Sony, problems fixed and problems caused by a new firmware update, and the release of the demo for what promises to be one of the great PS3 releases of the year, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. All that and more in the PS3 Weekend Warrior, available after the jump.

MMO makers are in a bit of hot water right now. A bunch of them, including heavyweights Blizzard, Sony, and NCSoft, are currently being sued by a New York company for alleged patent infringement. While patent lawsuits have become an almost everyday thing, this one is noteworthy in its scope and that the complainant is PalTalk, who successfully forced Microsoft to settle a US$ 90 million lawsuit over the same patents earlier this year.

"TV Superstars," huh... Interesting. You'd be interested too once you find out that this is the trademark filing that was unearthed at that US Patent and Trademark Office, filed on September 11 by Sony.

Siliconera went patent-spotting recently and guess what they found - two Namco Bandai patents sharing a similar theme: "Skies of Fury" and "Skies of Hostility." When Namco Bandai and skies are on the same subject line, one would probably remember their flight simulator, Ace Combat, which hasn't been making its presence felt in the gaming scene in a while. Another installment, maybe?

Wanna know the real reason why Cross-Game chat won't be coming in FW 3.0? Yeah, it's been in the works for a while now, and people are actually expecting it to arrive with this update. Then again, that's not gonna happen, and there are some wild (and disappointing) conspiratorial theories going around as to why this is the case.

Thanks to Naroon for this tip!

It looks like Sony's been visiting the patent office again. This time, they've patented another piece of software than seems to tie in a bit with their efforts at putting out a motion detecting controller. In fact, it's moving beyond mere motion to emotion. And no, that's not the Joker on the left.

Those who think that the Wii Vitality Sensor is a pretty strange peripheral to have for video games probably haven't heard of the horseback riding peripheral. It's basically an inflatable with a pocket to affix the Wiimote in, and the player would have to ride (and yes, bounce on) it to get it to work. Getting the picture yet? Yeah, I laughed too.

Reports are circulating that Eidos has recently filed a trademark for a sequel to 2007's co-op third-person shooter, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC). Sparse details after the jump.

Newport Beach, California-based firm,  Shared Memory Graphics LLC, is taking out the big guns and going after three of the top tech makers in the industry, namely Apple, Nintendo and Sony, alleging that these companies have infringed on their patent rights.