Hot on heels of PSP2 rumors, SCEJ begins hiring testers to evaluate a "part of the PlayStation or PSP series and their peripherals," including "machines not yet released."

For months, rumors have been circulating about either a redesign or a successor to Sony's PSP handheld. This week, the flames of speculation were further fanned by a job listing on the official Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Web site for an "evaluator/assessor" for a "new game machine." According to a translation by a fluent Japanese speaker, the new machine is "part of the PlayStation or PSP series and their peripherals."

The job listing goes on to state that, if accepted, evaluator/assessor applicants will "be part of an advisory staff that will play PlayStation series software on this new machine and check its functionality. They will also be able to "test game machines not yet released or new functionality of PS3 peripherals before they are released." (Emphasis added.)
So what exactly is this new "game machine"? Is it a new PSP, as some suspect, or simply some sort of new peripheral for the PSP or PS3? When contacted Sony Computer Entertainment reps said they were working on a response, which had not been issued as of press time.
If the device in question is a new model of the existing PSP platform, it would be the fourth iteration and third redesign of the handheld since its Western release in 2005. The first revamp, the PSP-2000, was unveiled at E3 2007 and offered a slimmer chassis and video-output support. The second revision, the PSP-3000 that launched last October, offered a brighter LCD screen, built-in microphone for use with Skype, and interlaced video output.

After shooting through scores of Covenant and Flood soldiers in three Halo first-person shooters, the United Nations Space Command's story rewinds a few decades in Halo Wars. The game grants you command of both the human UNSC forces and their archenemy, the theocratic alliance of the Covenant. Halo Wars offers quality cinematic presentation and a simple control scheme that makes the game easy to pick up and play, but the limited amount of units, short campaign, and dearth of multiplayer modes make it ultimately feel stripped. Halo Wars is a fun playthrough for casual real-time strategy and Halo fans, but there's not enough depth to win over hardcore strategy buffs.

Superb selection of UNSC and Covenant forces
Easy to play once you grasp the controls
Engaging storyline and cutscenes
Good mission variety through campaign mode.

Covenant not playable in campaign mode, Flood not playable at all
Small unit counts and map limit the scale of battles
Very few multiplayer options.

According to an Israeli company called 3DV Systems, its new ZCam follows in the footsteps of Sony (EyeToy), Microsoft (Vision) and even the Wii. It enables you to "use your body freely to control games, no wearables required, no limitations attached. Move your hand, leg, head or finger, in any direction and setting, moving quickly or making fine, minor movement - all these gestures are easily detected and understood by the system, creating a unique personalized and immersive gaming experience."We've all heard the "next Wii" before. We've used EyeToy, Wii and Vision. So, what's the biggie? The biggie is, according to the Haaretz.com news outlet, that Microsoft is buying the company. It's doing so because it, "apparently plans to use 3DV Systems' technology in its own gaming technology, probably in the Xbox 360."Despite Microsoft's failure to comment on an ongoing deal, the news outlet states, "Microsoft is negotiating to acquire the Israeli startup 3DV Systems for about $35 million, despite the alarming condition of the global economy and grim forecasts of more pain to come

The launch of the Nintendo DSi in Europe on April 3rd represents new ground for Nintendo apparently. But the company sees the possibility of selling the handheld to every household in the country.According to Nintendo's general manager in the UK, David Yarnton "There are 21m households in the UK – each one could conceivably have a DS. Or even more than one DS. "That doesn’t mean that we’ll sell multiple units into every family and sell over 60m in the UK alone – we don’t think that will happen - but the numbers are still very buoyant. This is uncharted territory for the games industry as far as we are concerned."We're not entirely sure why selling a handheld games console into a market that's already quite accustomed to handheld games consoles is "uncharted territory", so we'll put that down to marketing over-enthusiasm and move on.

Given the upheaval surrounding Black Box, many gamers have been pondering the fate of the Electronic Arts' subsidiary's signature series. Today, EA announced that one of the partially shuttered Canadian operation's franchises, Need for Speed, will continue to be developed.

Need for Speed: Shift
Indeed, not only will the street-racing series carry on, it will be expanded and split into three different franchises. The first, Need for Speed: Shift, is a hardcore racing simulation in the works for the PC, PSP, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. It is being developed by a hybrid team of internal and external developers in the UK, including Black Box executive producer Michael Mann and EA Games Europe senior vice president--and Digital Illusions CE cofounder--Patrick Soderlund. The outside help comes from Slightly Mad Studios, which was cofounded earlier this month by former GT Legends developer Ian Bell.
The second NFS franchise to rise from Black Box's ashes is Need for Speed Nitro (working title), an arcade racer being crafted by the Boogie-makers at EA Montreal. Set for release exclusively on Nintendo's Wii and DS, the game will sport a "unique visual style" and, like Need for Speed Shift, will sport many real-world automotive licenses. Also like Shift, it will ship in North American this fall.
Finally, six years after EA shut down its first car-based massively multiplayer game, Motor City Online, the publisher is backing the auto MMOG genre out of the garage again. Jointly developed by Black Box and EA Shanghai, Need for Speed World Online is a PC-only, free-to-play game set to launch in Asia this coming summer. A North American release is scheduled for "winter 2009," which could potentially mean an early 2010 release