The Ridge Racer game for Sony's upcoming PlayStation Vita will be the product of a unique studio: one that was established not by one major publisher, but as part of a partnership between two.
Cellius, the developer in question, is a joint venture between Sony Computer Entertainment and Namco Bandai, born of 2007 negotiations between then-PlayStation boss Ken Kutaragi and Namco Bandai's head of development Shukuo Ishikawa (note that it's rumoured that Kutaragi's son worked at Namco at the time).
Not only is it unique in terms of it parentage, but also in its approach, as it's not strictly a games developer. It's as much a research outpost as a games studio, as it spends a lot of time looking at things like the PS3's Cell architecture and trying to find ways the console and its titles can get the most out of it.
Ridge Racer is Cellius' first game project. You can read more about it at the great interview below.
Interview: Cellius - Namco & Sony's Secret Weapon? [Gamasutra]