From our recent trips to Miami (Super Bowl) and Las Vegas (NBA All-Star Weekend), our loyal readers know that the staff of Level Up have become mildly obsessed with Sony's automotive-painted-and-laser-etched Playstation 3s. And from the exclusive preview clip featured above, it looks like the Game Head shares our interest in these beauties. When we spoke with Sony Computer Entertainment America senior PR manager Ron Eagle in Miami, here's what he had to say about the thinking behind these show pieces:

"It starts with the great folks at Nike," Eagle told us, adding that the relationship between Sony and Nike had been cemented with last year's limited edition Playstation Air Force One sneakers. "They invited me to a couple of their events where I could see what they were able to do in terms of customizing product for the athletes." One such event was a New York City launch party for LeBron James' newest shoes, just before the launch of the PS3. There, Eagle saw Green Demon Laser's Brian Kappel (featured in the above clip) lasering mobile phones, BlackBerrys and shoes for key invitees. After Eagle had an intricate skull design laser etched onto the back of his BlackBerry, he was sold.

Two months prior to Super Bowl, Eagle and Kappel were going back and forth on logo and design concepts until Eagle and his bosses were satisfied. Then, three weeks before the big game, the Portland, Oregon-based Green Demon Laser went into production. Sony shipped them 100 PS3s to be painted and etched with the agreed-upon designs; simultaneously, Nike provided 100 25th anniversary Air Force Ones to be lasered with matching designs. They also brought the laser to Miami so that they could further personalize the PS3s and shoes--with names, nicknames, jersey numbers, etc.--for the few "key influencers" among athletes and celebrities fortunate enough to be invited up to the Playstation Oasis Penthouse in South Beach. (According to Kappel, who calls the machine "a big laser printer," most companies who buy the device simply use it for trophies and Employee of the Month plaques.)

"For us, it's trying to create that environment that not only adheres to our brand values, but also provides a completely unique experience," said Eagle. "We're constantly looking for ways to lead our industry both in innovation and entertainment value. That's what drove my thinking about what we were going to do."

Having been fortunate enough to go to a number of celebrity events during our Newsweek career, and having departed said events with a number of gift bags, it seems to us that celebs are often given things that they either don't need or could simply buy for themselves. With the laser etched PS3s, however, the lucky few are able to get an extremely personalized gift in a matter of minutes. And in an era where the IRS is taxing gift bag recipients and watching them closely, we suspect that if a celebrity is going to share more of their loot with Uncle Sam, the gift had better be worth it. Fortunately, the customized PS3s fit the bill. For more footage of Sony's tricked-out PS3s, click here.