More On: MusicSkins.com

A few years ago at E3 2005, I discovered Gamer Graffix; a company that was just beginning to make a name for itself. Since then, skins, graphics, stickers, or any other name you want to use for thematic console decor has become more and more popular. With that popularity has come several more companies fighting for market share in this growing niche. Most have managed to acquire rights to some properties that allow them to try and claim a unique portion of the skin space. I’ve recently come across MusicSkins, which is the first company I feel has a truly unique perspective on this “skins game”.

Rather than focus on marketing tie-ins to cartoon, movie, or other fictional characters, the folks at MusicSkins as their name would imply have focused on music. From the man in black, Johnny Cash, to the iconic black and white photos of John Lennon in his round rimmed frames, these skins have the music industry covered. And with artists from Miles Davis to Bob Marley to Fergie, you can bet they have something to cater to the most demanding music aficionados tastes.

Of course, with all that musical range, there needs to be an equally wide range of devices to skin. 89 device options to be precise, including multiple flavors of the PSP, DS, and both the Rock Band and Guitar Hero guitars.

Not happy with the artist selection? Add your own. MusicSkins.com allows you to create your own custom skins, uploading pictures onto the template of the device of your choice. In creating the custom skin I am using to review the skins, I found this tool to be a joy to use. Users can upload multiple pictures; resizing and overlaying them as you see fit. I used some pictures from our recent wedding to create the custom skin for my wifes PSP. The skin turned out terrific. The photos were professional quality, so that may have had something to do with the output, but the printed skin stands up nicely against professional prints of the same photos.

I’ll check back in on these skins in a couple of weeks after I’ve had a chance to play with them.