As the proliferation of websites dedicated to this "art" attests, there is a robust market for customized gaming controllers. Even a casual Google search will turn up half a dozen outfits with tons of customization offerings, ranging from the de rigueur high-gloss metal look to more...interesting choices.

It's pretty safe to say that none of these are going to make it into the MoMA. So what's the deal here, do gamers just have terrible taste, or do these firms just have an aversion to hiring people that actually went to art school? The answer's probably a little of both, but the bottom line is if any of you were thinking of cracking this market, the aesthetic competition isn't very stiff.

The second question we came up with after viewing the offerings is, why haven't any well-known industrial designers recently tackled a game controller? But as it turns out, one has. Stay tuned.