GameSpot News learned Wednesday that four key Sony third-party development staff members have migrated from that company to VM Labs in preparation for VM's hoped-for third-party build-up. Two of those ex-Sony staffers are Scott Hunter (account coordinator for third-party division) and Joe Sousa (manager of the game evaluation department for the third-party division). Before joining Sony, the two worked for Atari.

　　Two additional ex-Sony staff members, both third-party support staff, will also join the VM Labs team next week.

　　Hunter and Sousa told GameSpot News that their decision to move to VM Labs was because they liked the direction VM's technology is going (in a substantially different direction than Sony, they say), and that the two saw what they say is unexciting PlayStation software coming down the pike.

　　"It's an opportunity to create games for the next generation," Sousa told GameSpot News.

　　VM Labs is now gearing up for an E3 showing of its Project X game machine - which may still be veiled in secrecy even at that time. The first Project X machines are expected to turn up on store shelves in late 1998.

　　About 50 developers have signed on with VM Labs to create original titles for the machine. The first of those games are expected to be shown, even if behind closed doors, at E3.