We're not entirely sure what to make of this, but here's what we know so far:

Sega has been teasing the reveal of "Project Needlemouse" since September of last year, which we found out tonight was officially an episodic sequel to Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles to be released on WiiWare, PSN, XBOX Live Arcade, and a yet to be revealed mystery platform. Sonic 4 is abandoning the 3D platforming that has plagued recent Sonic games and going back to its 2D roots as you can see in the following trailer:

Where things get crazy is when it comes to a few details which will be unlocked when a few different timers hit zero on the Sonic 4 web site. According to SonicStadium.org and a post on NeoGAF, finding out what lies behind promo1_locked.png and promo2_locked.png on the web site was as simple as removing the "_locked" from the URL. Of course these files are nowhere to be found now, but here are the two images that allegedly were found on Sega's servers:

Now, it's entirely possible we're being pranked here, but, at the same time, Sega is revealing a fourth platform that the game will be on soon. Episodes of Sonic 4 are obviously being distributed digitally, and aside from the Wii, PS3, and XBOX 360, there really only is the DSi, PSP, and iPhone left that Sega would even conceivably release the game on… So, if nothing else, we've got a 1 in 3 chance of seeing Sonic 4 on the App Store.

The entire internet seems to be in a frenzy today regarding the unannounced Apple Tablet. Between the CEO of publisher McGraw-Hill confirming its existence and Daily Finance already reporting on things they don't like about it, speculation, rumors, rants, and questions which won't be answered until Steve takes the stage tomorrow are running rampant.

This morning, Stand Alone Inc announced their intentions to bring Crosswords [$9.99] to the rumored Apple tablet device. While they may be jumping the gun a little bit, announcing a game for a device which hasn't even been officially announced, Stand Alone does have a fair amount of street cred' in tablet application development. They were a major developer for the now defunct Apple Newton and authored an impressive library of software for the Newton, which is still available online.

Crosswords is among the better crossword games available on the App Store, and is one of the few games which has lived on my phone since its initial release in 2008. If the Apple tablet does run the iPhone OS as many are speculating, and it has either its own associated App Store or operates off the existing App Store, we expect this will be the first of an avalanche of announcements of software coming to the device.

Apple's keynote begins tomorrow at 10:00 AM Pacific, and will be covered live by nearly every tech-related web site. We will be providing live updates with anything that pertains to gaming, regardless of what is announced, and if Apple's tablet does end up serving as a gaming device, expect tablet game coverage to supplement our existing iPhone and iPod touch coverage.

The Apple rumor mill has been going absolutely wild with speculation lately on what could be in store for us at Apple's event on the 27th where some form of Apple tablet is expected to be revealed. From a gaming perspective, there have been several hints that App Store gamers could be in for a treat, with the Wallstreet Journal reporting that Apple has been working with EA to show off the gaming capabilities of the rumored tablet device.

Considering the mysterious delay in the release of Mirror's Edge, a game we got a preview of last month, with this recent news it may not be that far fetched to expect to see it as part of a demonstration of the tablet's array of games. Other developers have also been asked by Apple to produce versions of their games that are resolution independent, allowing them to seamlessly scale up to the presumably higher resolution display.

To make things even more interesting, Kotaku and several other general gaming sites have also been invited to the event, along with representatives from quite a few popular iPhone game studios. Of course trying to discern what Apple is up to by reading between the lines of rumors and event invitations is open to all forms of interpretation, but it seems the stars are aligning to a serious gaming announcement on the 27th.

We will have live keynote coverage of the event, and if the Apple tablet does turn out to be a gaming device, you can expect to see reviews of any noteworthy tablet games to supplement our existing iPod touch and iPhone game focus.

Most of you have probably seen World of Warcraft-on-iPhone claims/videos/mock-ups before, but this time it looks like it might actually be true.

Someone posted this YouTube video of World of Warcraft running on an iPhone:

A few interesting things to note. The game is running in the Vollee client, an application from a mobile company whose main purpose is to develop software to allow mobile 3G phones to play CPU intensive PC applications over the network. From an interview:

Through the VolleeX engine, we can take full PC games, MMOs or even virtual worlds and stream them to any 3G enabled handsets. This means that you can now access games or full persistent online worlds right from your mobile handset. It's a real step forward for mobile games as you can now have meaningful connected experiences on your handset.

Vollee's first public demonstration of the product showed off Second Life on a mobile phone. Vollee has announced a partnership with ActivisionBlizzard making a World of Warcraft port a possibility — one that people have been speculating about for some time. And as a final piece to the puzzle, Vollee said back in 2008 that they will be supporting the iPhone.

When questioned about the functionality of the app, the poster of the video claims it's a "fully working app."

So, there you have it… a very convincing video (or a very intricate hoax).

Thanks MICHAELSD

Last week we published an article about upcoming iPhone gaming controllers. Specifically, we recapped the iControlPad project, but also published a diagram (see right) of what appeared to be another gaming controller for the iPhone that was in development.

The original image had been submitted anonymously and simply claimed that testing would begin in October. Some commenters from the original discussion were concerned that these controller pads would be relegated to jailbroken iPhones only due to lack of official SDK support.

A new image that we've received, however, suggests that this upcoming iPhone controller is actually from major accessory manufacturer Belkin and does indeed have official App Store support:

The ad copy promotes using the Joypod to squeeze the most out of your iPhone or iPod Touch to play App Store games in the easiest way. Other features listed include:

If all true, then Belkin's involvement certainly suggests that Apple will be building support into the official SDK to allow App Store games to take full advantage of these controllers.

Update: Belkin denies the rumor.

The SEGA Dreamcast was (and is) an amazing games console. Released in late '99, the Dreamcast was the first sixth generation console to hit market and, for the first time really, brought arcade level 3D gaming to the home. Sadly, the shadow of the forthcoming Playstation 2 from Sony and the ease with which its copy protection could be circumvented doomed the console to a short market life. The Dreamcast enjoys a cult following of gamers who today enjoy its catalog of over 325 high-quality titles. Of those 325, one of the very best is SEGA's Jet Grind Radio.

Jet Grind Radio (known as Jet Set Radio outside of North America) was announced at the Tokyo Game Show in 1999 and cause quite a stir with its distinctive, visually impressive cel-shaded rendering.  Gameplay is unique and at times frantic.  The player starts out in the role of Beat, a 17-year-old "rudie" who is leader of the GG's, a skate gang.

The city of Tokyo-To is broken up into multiple portions, each of which is controlled by a different gang of inline skating graffiti artists. You control a gang called the GGs, and you must protect your turf from being sprayed up by rival gangs and venture into the other sections of the city to mark up your rivals' turfs. The game is tied together by Jet Set Radio, a pirate radio station run by DJ Professor K. K appears between levels to advance the plot, similar to Lynne Thigpen's role as the radio DJ in the classic gang film, The Warriors. Unfortunately, Professor K never wishes your clique luck as they bop all the way back to Coney.

Each level gives you a time limit, a life meter, and a ton of areas that must be tagged before you can proceed. You'll encounter resistance in the form of gangs tagging over your tags and various levels of response from law enforcement officials. The law starts out small – a ragtag bunch of keystone cops who run after you with nightsticks. But as you move forward, the law gets more and more severe. Eventually, you'll face tear gas-launching cops in full riot gear, tanks, or find yourself surrounded by gunship helicopters that launch skater-seeking missiles in your direction. You also have to deal with the ever-present Officer Onishima, a roughneck cop with a gigantic pistol and a bad case of five o'clock shadow. Should you get caught in Onishima's sights, he'll chase after you, firing off rounds that will send you flying to the ground.

Gamespot gave Jet Grind Radio an Editor's Choice 9.0 rating.  And based on Kotaku's recent Comic-Con report, it seems that this beloved title may soon make its way to the iPhone.

At the fan convention last week, Kotaku heard indication that SEGA is planning on bringing back the franchise.  Rumor has it that it will be landing on the Wii, but a few additional details show hope of an iPhone conversion.

SEGA recently filed a new Jet Grind Radio trademark application with the USPTO.  Within are references to "game programs for use with mobile phones," "game programs for use with hand-held game machines," and "downloadable game programs."  Add to this the fact that SEGA of America president Simon Jeffery recently expressed his opinion that the iPhone is basically the next Dreamcast and that the company has many titles currently in development for the iPhone platform.

YouTube video of Dreamcast version

The chances of this title gracing the App Store in the future seem pretty solid.  Gamespot's review of the Dreamcast original indicates that "Jet Grind Radio is one of those 'something for everyone' games that really make a perfect addition to the Dreamcast library."  Its standing in the iPhone library would certainly be no different. Our fingers are certainly crossed.

Today at 10am Pacific Apple CEO Steve Jobs will deliver the World Wide Developer Conference 2008 keynote from the Moscone Center in San Francisco.  Without any chance for doubt, he will be unveiling the next-generation, 3G data-capable iPhone.  Further demos the "iPhone 2.0" firmware and SDK-developed apps are also expected, along with a demonstraion of the iTunes App Store.

A specific, late-June availability date for all of the above can be expected from today's keynote.

"iPhone 2.0" and the open SDK are poised to utterly change the landscape of mobile gaming.  This is a big day, folks.  Follow the event (auto-refresh text feed + photos) at MacRumorsLive.com.

We previously covered Demiforce's unique puzzle game called Trism. Trism fully utilizes both the iPhone's touchscreen and accelerometer to allow users to line up game pieces. When a three-way color match is made, the matching triangles disappear and other triangles fall in the direction of gravity to fill the void. The first Youtube video showed some early gameplay. Demiforce has posted a new video today demonstrating a few key features of the game:

The features listed include:

• 3 Game Modes: Classic, Timed, Puzzle
• 22 different achievements to find
• Online scoring. See how you compare to others around the world.
• Free demo to be available
• $4.99 Price

Demiforce is aggressively pricing their first game at only $4.99, and hopes to release it as soon as the iTunes App Store opens.

Apple's Back to School promo this year is expected to kick off on June 3rd, 2008. Last year, the annual promotion offered college students a free iPod ($199 value) when buying a qualifying Mac (basically, any Mac except the mini).

This year, Apple's promo is expected to be their biggest ever… and we've heard this means an iPod touch ($299 value) will be given for free to qualifying buyers.

If true, this means Apple's Touch OS X platform is going to absolutely explode in marketshare over the next 3 months. Along with the 3G iPhone, which is widely expected, every college student buying a Mac this summer will also be getting a device capable of running applications off the iTunes App Store.

Developers should take note at the potential audience Apple is building.

It's True: Details at Apple

As most anyone who follows iPhone news is surely aware, a new iPhone which uses 3G data (as opposed to EDGE) is expected to arrive soon.  All signs from the rumor mill point to a June 9th announcement at Apple's WWDC conference.  We can't wait.

3G isn't the only thing expected from the soon-to-be newest member of the iPhone family; rumors point to a true GPS, as well.  And then there are all the software advances that the "iPhone 2.0" firmware will bring to the equation.  But it's another rumor that has particularly piqued our interest.

There is talk of Apple licensing haptic feedback technology from Immersion for integration into future touchscreen devices.  Palluxo claims that a source within Apple indicates that the two companies met twice last week to discuss the matter.  What's more, Immersion announced last week that former Apple exec Clent Richardson has been appointed President and CEO of the company.

As Wikipedia defines it,

Haptic technology refers to technology which interfaces the user via the sense of touch by applying forces, vibrations and/or motions to the user. This mechanical stimulation may be used to assist in the creation of virtual objects (objects existing only in a computer simulation), for control of such virtual objects, and to enhance the remote control of machines and devices (teleoperators).

An obvious reason that Apple is pursuing this technology is the criticism the iPhone receives for the lack of tactile response associated with its on-screen keyboard.  With integrated, localized haptics, the iPhone (or other, future touchscreen device) could provide a real tactile feedback experience with each keypress, and from the particular screen region where the keypress took place.  This would obviously be a true user interface win for the iPhone, but the benefits would not end there…

Immersion's technology is behind the rumble feature of Sony's new DualShock 3, a game controller some critics consider to be the best designed controller ever devised.  The potential for the use of localized haptics in gaming is immense.

It's worth reiterating that the next generation iPhone that's only weeks away may not include this technology, but it seems clear that before long the iPhone's cold, glass screen will sport a great deal more character.