The University of Southern California today announced that Jenova Chen, co- founder of thatgamecompany, has been recognized by Technology Review magazine as one of the world’s top innovators under the age of 35 for his revolutionary approach to video gaming.

As a graduate student, Chen looked to psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s theory of “flow,” which identifies a state of focus that people find enjoyable and fulfilling. Chen uses the theory’s principles to design games that offer just enough challenge — not so little that players become bored, not so much that they become anxious.

Chen, along with Kellee Santiago, formed thatgamecompany, and secured a 3 game deal with Sony Computer Entertainment America. Their first commercial title “flOw” was release on the SONY PS3 Network, has been named the “Best Downloadable Game of 2008″ and “Best Debut Game & Innovation Nominee” by the Game Developers Choice Awards 2008, and is the best selling game on the Playstation Network in both US and Japan. Their next title, “Flower,” will be released later this year.

“The TR35 honors young innovators for accomplishments that are poised to have a dramatic impact on the world as we know it,” said Jason Pontin, editor- in-chief and publisher of Technology Review magazine. “We celebrate their success and look forward to their continued advancement of technology in their respective fields.”

“Jenova Chen exemplifies what it means to be an innovator. He pushes the boundaries of his industry, questioning assumptions about what gaming can be. Because of his breakthrough vision, the impact from his approach to gaming will be felt for generations to come,” said Krisztina “Z” Holly, USC Vice Provost for Innovation and Executive Director of the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation.

Chen and the other TR35 winners for 2008 will be featured in the September issue of Technology Review magazine and honored at EmTech08 Conference to be held at MIT in Cambridge, Mass. September 23-25, 2008.

Sony has just announced the first details as well as release information for the upgraded PSP. Replacing the current PSP-2000, also known as the PSP Slim, the PSP-3000 will boast a number of new features. Most notable of those are the new high contrast LCD as well as a built-in mic. The LCD will also sport a better response time, better color representation and an anti-reflection technology to help increase visibility in well-lit areas.

The built-in microphone will allow users take advantage of games with voice features, Skype and other communication tools without requiring any additional accessories.

The video output port on the PSP-3000 will include interlace support. What this means is that gamers that couldn’t take advantage of the feature on the PSP-2000 due to it being progressive only (HD) will be able to play PSP content directly on their non-HD TVs.

The system is due to release in Piano Black, Pearl White and Mystic Silver. The new units are due for release worldwide in October 2008.

EA Partners, the arm of Electronic Arts that works with independant developers has announced their first partnership with a Japanese firm. The deal will see EA publish a title developed by Grasshopper Manufacture, known for No More Heroes, Killer 7 and others. Suda51 will be designing the title himself and he is also bringing Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil, Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe) along as Producer. PS3, Xbox 360, Wii and the PC will be the platforms the title is released on.

No real details of the title were released as of now. Shinji Mikami only revealed that the game will be dark, scary and full of action. We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled on this one folks

Ubisoft has announced that they’ll be releasing the next title in the long running Armored Core franchise. The thirteenth entry in the series, the game will release both on Xbox 360 and PS3. Some features include both co-op and competitive online play, changing the storyline through switching factions, three different endings, 40 battlefields and all the mech customizing action the series is known for.

In the distant future, massive urban development and pollution have critically damaged the planet. There is widespread fear that the end of the world is approaching. The League corporations, a military superpower, control the planet’s infrastructure and have forced most of the world’s population to live in huge aerial communities, called Cradles, to avoid the contamination. The ORCA, a rebel resistance still residing on the surface of the polluted planet, have amassed a formidable arsenal and are mobilizing to attack The League’s bases to put an end to their iron grip on the planet. As a mercenary armed with cutting-edge military robot technology, choose your side and defeat the other factions by harnessing the power of the deadliest and most gigantic weapons ever created by mankind.

Armored Core for Answer is due for release in September 2008.

Afro Samurai: Resurrection, the sequel to the popular sci-fi samurai anime with a hip hop flair is just hours away from being announced and premiered at the San Diego Comic Con. However, ahead of that, PopCultureShock already has some dirty little details for you. Though not much is known about the plot as of now, we do know who will be voicing the villain. We’ve confirmed with a source inside FUNimation that Lucy Liu will be providing the voice of the Afro’s adversary this time around.

The second tastey morsel is this. While we’ll be getting a look at the second season of Afro Samurai later today, we were informed by someone high up at Gonzo way back during February 2007 that not only were they working towards and planning a Season 2 of Afro Samurai, but Season 3 and Season 4 as well. Sorry we forgot to tell you about that one…

Square Enix’s President Yoichi Wada announced at the end of the Microsoft E3 Press Event that Final Fantasy XIII will be released on Xbox 360. The title will ship simultaneously on Xbox 360 and PS3 in the US and Europe. The title is still a PS3 exclusive in its native Japan.

We’ll have more details on this as it develops.

Nintendo announced the Wii MotionPlus today, ahead of their E3 press conference tomorrow. The Wii MotionPlus is an accessory that attaches to the bottom of the Wii-mote and enhances gameplay ‘by more quickly and accurately reflecting motions in a 3-D space.’ Very little else is known about the accessory as of now. So far it seems like it just makes the Wii-mote more precise. Read the full announcement below and we’ll have more details from E3 this week.

Nintendo’s upcoming Wii MotionPlus accessory for the revolutionary Wii Remote controller again redefines game control, by more quickly and accurately reflecting motions in a 3-D space. The Wii MotionPlus accessory attaches to the end of the Wii Remote and, combined with the accelerometer and the sensor bar, allows for more comprehensive tracking of a player’s arm position and orientation, providing players with an unmatched level of precision and immersion. Every slight movement players make with their wrist or arm is rendered identically in real time on the screen, providing a true 1:1 response in their game play. The Wii MotionPlus accessory reconfirms Nintendo’s commitment to making games intuitive and accessible for everyone. Nintendo will reveal more details about the Wii MotionPlus accessory and other topics Tuesday morning at its E3 media briefing.

Not surprisingly, Capcom has decided to release the latest title in the Street Fighter franchise on both the Xbox 360 and PS3. What might catch gamers off guard just a little bit is the fact that the firm will release Street Fighter IV on PC as well. Set between the events of Street Fighter II and Street Fighter III, the latest iteration will blend 3D graphics with the traditional 2D mechanics gamers became used to with Street Fighter II. The arcade release is due this Summer. We’ll have more on the home release of this title as it breaks.

Funimation announced today that they’re bringing the second volume to the excellent series, Gunslinger Girl to fans in the United States. Titled Gunslinger Girl II Teatrino, the story begins with the Social Welfare Agency investigating the Five Republics as they search for a missing operative. The assassin Triela infiltrates the hostile organization, but her search is cut short when she finds herself staring down the barrel of a gun.

The second volume will be released as one complete DVD release. Unfortunately, fans are going to have to wait until 2009 for this one.

Gamers have been fearful of the name Uwe Boll for 5 years now. Starting with his film adaptation of House of The Dead (2003), Uwe has made a name for himself by not only making very bad movies (that’s about as politely as we can state it), but also by targetting videogame franchises for his film treatments. He’s gone on to create BloodRayne films, Postal, Alone in The Dark and more. Though gamers have been wishing that the man would simply stop destroying our franchises, the man keeps on going.

A day of hope, however, may be approaching. Uwe Boll was recently asked in an interview about his thoughts on an online petition that aimed at getting him to stop making movies. At the time of the interview, the petition only had 18,000 signatures and Boll stated, “Yeah, I know that. 18,000 is not enough to convince me.” When asked how many signatures would it take to make him stop, he replied “One million. Now we have a new goal.”

Where things get even funnier is that Stride Gum is trying to do their part to speed up the process. If the petition reaches 1 million signatures before May 14th, they’ll give 1 million packs of gum to the those who sign the petition.

Whether or not Dr. Uwe Boll meant what he said about stopping if the petition hit 1 million or if he’s just trying to take advantage of the press it’ll stir up ahead of his latest movie, Postal, making a theatrical release this month remains to be seen. For the gamers out there, however, that hope to never see one of their beloved franchises tarnished again, it just may be worth a try.