While Microsoft didn’t have a new system to announce like Sony and Nintendo, they still had a couple of hardware announcements to talk about.

The first hardware-related announcement was the news of a new Wireless Speed Wheel for the Xbox 360 that will start shipping to retailers on September 26th, just ahead of Forza 4. With a suggested retail price of $59.99 the Wireless Speed Wheel has an interesting “U” shape that allows players to steer though the action while enjoying precise steering with feedback and rumble. At first glance it looks a bit strange, but with compatibility with most 360 racing games right out of the box, it could be a much bigger hit than traditional steering wheel and pedal setups have been in the past.

Microsoft is celebrating the release of Gears of War 3 with a Limited Edition Gears of War 3 Xbox 360 console. Very similar in scope to the release of the Limited Edition Halo Reach console that Microsoft made available to celebrate Halo Reach, Microsoft once again delivers a great looking Gears of War 3-themed console.

In addition to the console being in Gears of War 3-themed dress, the console will also feature a 320GB hard drive, making it the first console that Microsoft has offered that has more than 250GB of hard drive space. While there is speculation that Microsoft might be moving toward offering the 320GB hard drive either in a standard console package or separately, our sources claim that if this does happen it will not be for a while. As with the Halo Reach Limited Edition console, the power and eject buttons have been customized with unique sounds from the “Gears of War” universe.

The Gears of War 3 Limited Edition console will also come with two Limited Edition Gears of War 3 controllers that will be available for purchase separately for a limited time. A wired headset is also included in the package along with a copy of the standard edition of Gears of War 3.  In addition, as a special treat each console includes a download token for bonus game content, including the Infected Omen Weapon Pack and the Adam Fenix character for use in multiplayer. The Infected Omen Weapon Pack gives fans the infected omen skin for use on the five starting weapons: Lancer, Retro Lancer, Hammerburst, Gransher, and Sawed-Off Shotgun.

The Gears of War 3 Limited Edition Xbox 360 console will arrive at retailers starting on September 20th, 2011 and will retail for $399. If you want to make sure that you are able to latch on to the Limited Edition Gears of War 3 console, we are told that a number of retailers are already taking pre-orders for the console. Our sources tell us that it is currently undecided how limited edition the console will be, but we are hearing that there will be ample supplies of the Gears of War 3 Limited Edition controllers which will arrive at about the same time.