Well, lookie what our amigos at Engadget have stumbled upon: a purported video of the Sony Ericsson ZEUS-Z1 "PlayStation Phone" being handled by a YouTube user by the alias of "xxmajstor." Whoever they are, they show the very PSP Go-esque phone off for upwards of two minutes, sliding it open to reveal the previously reported on game controls, including the "touch strip" that evidently sits in for dual analog sticks.

Looking at the top of the device, you can clearly see the L and R shoulder buttons and what appears to be a volume controller rocker right in the same spot where it appears on a Go. The back of the phone features a camera and LED flash. Perhaps the most telling bit of the video in terms of this being the PlayStation Phone (as if the controls aren't enough) is the presence of a PlayStation controller icon among the other apps on its screen.

Hit the break for the full video and let us hear what you think of it in comments.

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Speaking at the Italian Videogame Developers Conference, former Atari head and current co-founder of London Venture Partners, Phil Harrison, discussed his vision of the future of video games. Harrison believes that "the next generation platform for games" will be powerful web browsers, programs that will "deliver console level 3D graphics, video and audio." Such a browser will be able to deliver a title on par with Modern Warfare 2 noted Harrison, saying, "I think in the next five-to-ten years we will easily get this level of game inside a web browser, on your mobile platform, on your iPad, and we will be able to deliver that level of immersion to any kind of screen."

He added further that the boxed retail industry is being replaced by "a service industry where everything is delivered digitally on the internet." He pointed to the music industry as an example of this shift, saying that it's indicative of what's happening to the game industry. The crux of Harrison's speech, lest you haven't gathered, is that the future is online, a point he illustrated by noting that online games garner 68 percent of the industry's venture capital.

Head over to Develop for the full scoop on Harrison's keynote.

Hey GameString! You guys need to cut it out. Yes, the tech demo you've been circulating for your cloud-based, game-streaming technology is wicked impressive, but the subject of said demo is just plain irresponsible. Using its own "Adrenalin Host Server" and a customized, touch-based user interface, GameString has managed to run a playable version of World of Warcraft on an HTC Desire smartphone. (Check out a video demonstrations after the jump.)

Sure, we've seen WoW running on an iPad recently, and we've seen a few cumbersome attempts to put it on a mobile phone in the past, but we're concerned nonetheless. Until now, the only thing keeping the world from ... well, stopping, was the fact that you couldn't properly play World of Warcraft without sitting (or biking) at your computer. Just think: If GameString pulls this off, you could soon be able to grind, farm, raid and PvP your way through Azeroth using a thing that fits in the pocket of your skinniest jeans! That's gonna be it, man. That's gonna be the end of this great big beautiful experiment we call humanity.

If you're looking to contribute to, you know, the apocalypse, you can sign up for the Adrenalin Host Server's public beta on GameString's official site.

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Gameloft is having a Twitter Advent event, with an e-chocolate based piece of information or free game every day up until December 24. The free games will be available globally (unless specified) for iOS and Android devices, with "a little bit more in the end."

All you have to do is follow @Gameloft on Twitter to partake in the goodies. Yesterday's treat was Driver for free, today was a sneak peek at StarFront: Collision. Yeah, we're hoping for more stuff like the former too.

Gameloft has announced a "new" RTS for iOS. Entitled StarFront: Collision, the game bares a striking resemblance to StarCraft. For one, it features three races: A human mining group known as the Consortium, a bug-like alien race called the Myriad and a race of sentient robots referred to as the Wardens. And these three factions, you see, they're all embroiled in a battle to obtain a precious mineral known as (wait for it) Xenodium. There's also a gruff hero named Tim Gaynor and his elite psychic operative friend, Kara Serrigan. Okay, we made that last one up, but you get the picture.

StarFront: Collision will feature online or local multiplayer for four players as well as a campaign with 20 missions. More details on the game, including its price, will be revealed "soon." Check out the first trailer after the break.

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Mobile games publisher Gameloft is showing no signs of slowing down. The company announced its upcoming slate of iOS games at a press conference in Paris today, including sequels to some of the company's most successful properties, such as Asphalt 6: Adrenaline and NOVA 2, a follow-up to the company's Halo-inspired portable FPS. NOVA 2 adds new weapons and new enemies (with jetpacks!) and will offer multiplayer. Not only does it continue the story of the first game, but will reward players of the original with bonus XP.

Perhaps of most interesting title was Gameloft's new IP, Shadow Guardian (pictured above). In typical Gameloft fashion, Shadow Guardian bears more than a little resemblance to other popular console games, notably Uncharted and Tomb Raider: You travel through a variety of locations, from temples to cities, climbing and leaping through the environment in search of treasure. In addition to the requisite puzzle-solving, you'll also be able to shoot your way through waves of enemies, taking cover, blind-firing, and rushing in for melee kills. Yes, you've seen all of this before -- but have you seen it running on an iPhone?

All of these games should be available later this month, "before Christmas."

From a GDC rant about the perils of being a game developer laid off in this tumultuous economy to announcing an acquisition less than a year later, brothers Paul and Dave Bettner have been busy. The ex-Ensemble devs were laid off, along with the rest of the studio, after shipping Halo Wars in 2008; they then established iPhone-dev Newtoy and quickly made a splash with the "With Friends" games, Chess With Friends and the Scrabble-esque Words With Friends, along with the ngmoco-published (and very Farmville-esque!) We Rule.

And today, during a press conference call, Zynga SVP of Mobile David Ko made the announcement that the social game powerhouse has acquired Texas-based NewToy for an undisclosed sum. "Zynga has acquired Texas-based mobile game development company NewToy," Ko revealed, before passing the mic to Paul Bettner. Bettner will serve the acronymical roles of VP and GM of the studio, tasked with developing "new mobile social games for the Zynga network."

The 23-person studio is being renamed Zynga With Friends, as seen in the logo above, though the press release awkwardly refers to it as "The Zynga With Friends Studio." While this represents a strong move by Zynga into the mobile gaming space, we're left wondering if the "With Friends" mobile games will make their way to Zynga's home base: Facebook. We've followed up with the company to ask about just that.

Oh, and considering the new company's name includes "With Friends" we're going to assume that its World War Robot game is probably no longer in development. We'll let you know what we find out.

Are you looking to fulfill you annual desire to get totally pumped for the holidays, but can't seem to stop playing the iPhone sensation Angry Birds long enough to do so? Thanks to a recently published expansion to Rovio's tower-toppling App, you can now kill two birds with one high-velocity bird. For $0.99 on iOS ($1.99 for the HD version), or for free (but ad-supported) on Android, you can download "Season's Greedings," an add-on that features a new level every day in the 25 days leading up to Christmas. It's like an advent calendar! Only ... like, way more fun.

Purchasing the pack also unlocks the 45-level Halloween expansion for free -- or, if you've already acquired this extra spooky level pack, you can grab "Season's Greedings" in a free title update. We wonder if we can expect a purchase of this new add-on to grant us free admission to the next holiday-themed level pack, "New Year's Evil Pigs," or "Punxsutawney Panic." (Yes, those are made up. For now.)

Download: Angry Birds Seasons [iOS SD: $0.99] [iOS HD: $1.99] [Android: Free]

"We don't view the App Store as a really big opportunity for dedicated games," Activision boss Bobby Kotick told the Global Media Summit in New York earlier this week. Much of the game industry is extremely interested in the growing mobile and social game markets, but according to Kotick, Activision believes it can reach a wider customer base by focusing on its most popular franchises and platforms. "The place where you have the opportunities for growth," he said, "is within the communities of franchises we control."

But while Activision holds off on the mobile and social markets in favor of pushing traditional franchises, competitor EA is laying all kinds of groundwork there. Opportunity, it seems, doesn't look the same to everyone.

Building on 2009's initial offering, Rock Band Reloaded ($4.99 on iPhone/iPod Touch; $9.99 on iPad) adds a new expert mode and full vocal support in the sequel. Just promise us you won't be that guy on the bus, okay?

The iPad version of the game supports split-screen multiplayer, along with several different ways to present the action on screen -- lefties can reorient gameplay (but not flip frets) and there's even a full-screen drum kit to fool around with. For the full list of launch tracks, as well as free and premium tracks accessible through the App store and the game itself, click past the break.

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