...all we have said is that we have a three-game contract with Sony. Those games are PlayStation 3. We have started development on the first of those three games a couple of weeks ago. Realistically, that game will see the light of day at the end of 2009, maybe a little later or sooner, we'll see how things go.

When David Jaffe released Twisted Metal Head On: Extra Twisted Edition he promised that there was a hidden message in the game that would reveal the next project for Jaffe's Eat Sleep Play development studio.

Well it may have been "hidden really, really, really well" but you know how hardcore fans can be. A group over at Gamefaq managed to decipher the message in record time, discovering that it reads: METAL IS COMING ON PSTHREE.

I contacted Jaffe, who's hanging at DICE this week, to see if the gamers were on the money and he confirmed they were, adding his chagrin at how fast the code was discovered and cracked. Unfortunately, he hit me with a big fat no comment when I asked him if the upcoming PS3 version of Metal was going to be hitting the console via a disc or as a downloadable.

"As for how it gets distributed, no comment :)"

If Sony came back and said we really want you to be our PS2 team, we'd probably say no because it's probably not good for the health of our company. But it's still pretty... I love the PlayStation 2. I'd love to keep working on it if the business factors were there. But they're just not.

Protip: never play as Twister. Her secret weapon is a bomb that detonates whenever you run into anything, destroying the vehicle.

Given that Jaffe claims the clues are "so well hidden" and "really cryptic", we estimate it will take a good 45 minutes after the game hits store shelves for details to pop up on the internet. 50 minutes, tops.

Jaffe says clue to next game hidden in new Twisted Metal [GamePro]

I've had a pet project I've been working on for years, three of them if my memory is right. It started as a simple idea: You can judge a lot from a person's desk. I bet you could judge just as much from their home entertainment system. So I decided it would be fun to try and track down some pictures from the work desks and home gaming set-ups of the people who work in and cover the video game industry. Simple right? Not so much.

Turns out that many of the people are either too busy or too private to want to participate in such a project. To make matters worse, there's always fear that something sitting on someone's desk, that ends up in a photo, could actually be news worthy. Like a secret project or the next big thing. But I didn't give up and about once a year I'd harass a bunch of game developers for photos. Finally, this year, the harassment paid off.

What started as a trickle of photos turned quickly into the collection of galleries you'll find on the jump: More than 40 different photo galleries from 17 studios, seven publications, two industry movers and shakers and a couple of fun surprises.

You'll get to see the desk of such greats as Sid Meier, Peter Molyneux and Tetsuya Mizuguchi along with plenty of others. Remember you can comment both on the next page and on each individual photo if you click on them.

If I find there is interest, I will try to periodically update this gallery of galleries with more developers, journalists and industry movers and shakers. Have fun.

DEVELOPERS
2K Games

ASTRO Gaming

Buzz Monkey Software

Capcom

Eat, Sleep, Play

Electronic Arts

Firaxis Games

Flying Lab Software

Gearbox Software

Harmonix Music

Incognito Entertainment

Insomniac Games

Kojima Productions

Lionhead Studios

NanaOn-Sha

Naughty Dog

NCSoft

NetDevil

Neversoft Entertainment

Ninja Theory

Pandemic Studios

Petroglyph Games

THQ

Q Entertainment

JOURNALISTS

Blue's News

BoingBoing

EGM

The Escapist

GameLife

Joystiq

Kotaku

MTV

Slashdot Games

VE3D

VH1

INDUSTRY FOLK

MISCELLANIES
I AM 8-BIT

Penny Arcade

Whorecraft

Video Games Live

For those who missed it earlier, the PlayStation 2 port of PSP car combat hit Twisted Metal: Head On has been revealed and it looks... yep, it's Twisted Metal alright. Yes, yes, it's for the fans, but I think I'm ready for that PlayStation 3 sequel now. Next-gen online multiplayer, please!

While the PlayStation 2 game may rival Tom Clancy and Square-Enix products with its extra long name, Twisted Metal: Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition looks like it will satisfy followers of the series with its copious bonus features and fan service.

Twisted Metal: Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition [PlayStation.blog]

Croal: You're very connected in the industry, you've worked with a number of people and you've met a number of people over the years. Do you get a sense that the concerns that you had about the remuneration to people in your position relative to the remuneration to the publishers is a growing concern among creative people in the industry?

Jaffe: Gee, here's the good news—and I hope it comes through in your writing how honest I am—I could either stall you while I look up "remuneration" or I could just ask you what the hell it means, because I have no clue.

Croal: Well, it just means "payment." You know, like the money coming back to you.

Jaffe: Okay, so ask me again.

Sure, I care what people think. I'd love it if I could find a way to be honest and truthful and not give people the PR spin and at the same time be as liked as Miyamoto and CliffyB. I'd love that. That would be awesome to have people who don't take swipes at me every five fucking sentences I say. But I'd rather be honest than give you a bunch of PR bullshit because that stuff makes me physically ill.

...it seems like we're gonna get some great fan videos coming in, so that- along with tons of old concept art, toys, video, and other behind the scenes stuff we've uncovered- should make for a good package! I'm jazzed!

TWISTED METAL DOC FILMING NOW... [via 1up]

...the new game is medium to hardcore in terms of game play and will focus heavily on multiplayer...I am more excited about this game than anything I have ever worked on. I cannot wait to unveil it.

And if not, something awesomer will also suffice.

God of War creator confirms three PS3 exclusives [gamepro]

Did I mention that in addition to PlayStation fame, you'll also score a free copy of the game if selected? Not a bad bonus for a few minutes of rambling.

Please help up with the Twisted Documentary... [TMA]

David Jaffe's big news wasn't as shocking as some might have been expecting, possibly even disappointing when you consider his new dev studio is first tasked with porting a PSP game to the PlayStation 2. At the very least, I'm happy David's happy. It's clear that Jaffe won't be going back to work on God of War III, defining his relationship with the franchise as "severed." I personally enjoyed Calling All Cars, so I look forward to the new team's future work.

SCEA today confirmed what we reported yesterday: The company has signed an exclusive game development deal with a new studio formed by David Jaffe and Scott Campbell. Their first Playstation game will be released in 2008.

Jaffe, the developer of GOW and other games, and Campbell, founder of Incognito, formed Eat, Sleep, Play in Utah under the SCEA Santa Monica Studios banner. As part of their multi-year-multi-title deal the studio will be creating Twisted Metal(R): Head On for PlayStation 2, which is scheduled to be released this winter. Twisted Metal: Head On will feature lost levels from the never released Twisted Metal: Black(R) Part II and a documentary on the series.

"We are extremely pleased to be working with David and Scott and supporting them in their new endeavor," said Shuhei Yoshida, senior vice president, product development, SCEA. "Through hit after hit, they have established themselves as two of the most talented individuals this industry has ever seen, and I look forward to seeing what kind of further gaming innovation they can bring to the PlayStation brand through our new development deal."

Hmmm, I hope Jaffe has more light to shed on this news. I'd love to hear what the new studio's first big project will be. Release after the jump.

Sony Computer Entertainment America Announces Exclusive Game Development Deal With 'Eat, Sleep, Play(TM)'

New Development Studio Formed By God of War(R) Creator David Jaffe and former Incognito Entertainment Chief Scott Campbell

FOSTER CITY, Calif., July 27 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (SCEA) today announced an exclusive game development deal with Eat, Sleep, Play(TM), a new software development company formed by legendary game creators David Jaffe and Scott Campbell. Under the agreement, Eat, Sleep, Play is signed on for a multi-year, multi-title deal to create titles for the PlayStation family of products, with the first slated for release in 2008.
Based in Utah, Eat, Sleep, Play is a newly formed company founded by David Jaffe, a former creative director for SCEA's Santa Monica Studios; and Scott Campbell, the founder of Incognito Entertainment, a dedicated development
studio also under the SCEA Santa Monica Studios banner. Jaffe is perhaps best known as the co-creator and game director behind the multi-million PlayStation(R) platform franchises Twisted Metal(R) on PS one(R) & PlayStation(R)2 and God of War(R) on PlayStation 2. Campbell, a long-time collaborator with Jaffe and co-creator of the Twisted Metal titles, is currently receiving industry praise for Incognito's PLAYSTATION(R)3 PS3(TM))-exclusive online air and ground combat game Warhawk(TM). Additionally, Jaffe and Campbell recently collaborated efforts on Calling All Cars(TM), a popular exclusive downloadable title for PLAYSTATION(R)Network.
In addition to the multi-year, multi-title deal to create titles for the PlayStation family of products, the company will also be creating Twisted Metal(R): Head On for PlayStation 2, which is scheduled to be released this winter. Twisted Metal: Head On will feature lost levels from the never released Twisted Metal: Black(R) Part II and a documentary on the series.
"We are extremely pleased to be working with David and Scott and supporting them in their new endeavor," said Shuhei Yoshida, senior vice president, product development, SCEA. "Through hit after hit, they have established themselves as two of the most talented individuals this industry has ever seen, and I look forward to seeing what kind of further gaming innovation they can bring to the PlayStation brand through our new development deal."
In conjunction with today's news, SCEA confirmed that the core members of the Incognito team responsible for Warhawk will remain within the SCEA Santa Monica Studios fold, headed up by Dylan Jobe, and will continue to produce content for this highly-anticipated title. Jobe, game director for Warhawk, is known for his work on the popular hit titles War of the Monsters(TM) and Twisted Metal: Black(R) for PlayStation 2.