Considering Turn 10's Forza Motorsport 3 has sold over two million copies, it would come as no surprise that the studio would begin work on a sequel. And it appears they are. Binge Gamer cites that a source with "intimate knowledge of the situation" reports that Turn 10 is actively hiring for the next Forza installment.

The source notes that nothing is set in stone, but says you shouldn't be surprised to see an "official" announcement in the next "several weeks."

It's been previously reported that Turn 10 is currently beginning work on "the next big thing." Last month, it was revealed that the studio was hiring for Natal developers. Whether or not this is related to the hugely popular racing series is yet to be seen.

[via Binge Gamer]

SCEE registered the domain name www.motorstorm3.com recently, which interestingly takes you to the PlayStation's UK website. Spotted by The Gaming Liberty, the domain was registered January 19, suggesting that Motorstorm 3 is on the way.

Sony has responded, saying to not look too closely into this. "It's not uncommon for us to secure the URLs containing the names of our successful IP, and those actions should not be interpreted as an announcement of a new title in a franchise," the company said in a statement.

Could we be seeing Motorstorm 3 at E3 later this year?

According to the LinkedIn profile of an EA software engineer, the new NBA Jam originally announced for Wii is also heading to the PS3 and Xbox 360. Although it's since been changed, this suggests that there might be some yet-to-be-made announcements. That, or it was an honest mistake, but we're hoping for the former of the two.

The game is expected to release later this year.

[via Superannuation]

Final Fantasy XI is by no means the highest profile online role-playing game on the market, but despite its arduous difficulty when compared to newer games in the genre, as well is its near eight full years of operation, it still boasts a considerable (and profitable) subscriber base just shy of 500,000.  It’s knowing those numbers that made the recent rumors that the game would be shut down upon the release of Final Fantasy XIV -- XI’s multiplayer successor -- just a little startling, but it seems that Square Enix President Yoichi Wada has taken it upon himself to put a stop to the spread of this particular fabrication.

“There seems to be some rumor that FFXI is ending,” Wada broadcasted over his personal Twitter feed.  “But, if that was done, we’d be in trouble.”  The actual quote in Japanese can be found at the bottom of this post.

This obviously stands as welcome news for the hundreds of thousands of players dedicated to Square’s debut MMORPG title.  As showcased in earlier examples such as EverQuest and its 2004 sequel, it’s likely that quite a large number of these subscribers will opt out of making the jump from one game to the next, or that many of them will be willing to continue paying for their Final Fantasy XI account even while playing XIV as a method of avoiding the loss of so much work.

Final Fantasy XIV Online is scheduled to release this year for the PlayStation 3 and PC.

「FF11」が今年で終了!?　和田社長「そんなことされたら困りますっ ＞＜」
[via Kotaku]

According to Jimi Hendrix heiress Janie Hendrix, a Rock Band game honoring the guitar legend is on the way. She says the game will be releasing by the end of 2010.

The 40th anniversary of Hendrix's death is this fall, so it makes sense. In an interview with the LA Times, Janie Hendrix said the game is part of a long-term contract that she signed last year.

Harmonix was quick to respond to the news, telling Destructoid, "While we have not made any official announcements regarding Jimi Hendrix and Rock Band, we are excited to say that we are in discussion to bring more of his music to our platform. Stay tuned."

[via Billboard]

The Official PlayStation Magazine reports that cross-game chat on the PlayStation Network could be a subscription-based feature.

"Aside from the 3D goodness, cross-game party chat is the obvious next big feature, even though it might be restricted to paid subscribers," the mag writes.

Just a couple weeks ago, Sony mentioned that it was "actively thinking" of ways to charge for PSN content.

According to French gaming site gamekult.com, Nintendo has started sending out DS-2 development kits to several studios, and we might even get our hands on the new portable system before the end of 2010.  Too good to be true?  Probably.  Being mere rumors, the best thing to do at this point is to wait until GDC, which arrives next month, or more likely E3.

Activision has said that the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 DLC will be coming this spring, but it has not given a more specific window. CVG reports that a "reliable source" has told them the DLC will be releasing on Xbox Live this April, which would fit nicely with the spring release date Activision suggested.

There's still no word on what the DLC will include, although it's been unofficially confirmed that it will contain new maps. Whatever it is, it will be a timed exclusive on the Xbox 360, releasing sometime later on PS3 and PC.

Official Xbox Magazine is prepping to reveal "the shooter that everybody is asking for," according to a leaked photo of the mag's cover. Some speculate it could be the recently announced Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, but it would seem unlikely since there isn't all that much excitement for a new one. Any ideas on what it might be?

We'll have to wait until March 11 to find out just what it is.

[via Connected Consoles]

It looks like the Final Fantasy XIII bundle may not be the only hardware package on the way. Microsoft is set to announce a Splinter Cell: Conviction hardware bundle later today at X10. Ars Technica reports that the bundle will consist of a black Xbox 360, 250GB hard drive, two black controllers,  a black wired headset, and a copy of the game of course.

The bundle will retail for $399.99, and it will go on sale when the game launches in April.