According to Spong, an internet game database, the preliminary work on Super Monkey Ball 3 is already underway at Sega's acclaimed R&D studio, Amusement Vision.

One insider told Spong, "AV is looking at greatly expanding the mechanic behind Monkey Ball. Some of the things they are working on should explode what is possible from the game, with complete spin, controlled with the second analogue stick, already in place in early tech demos."

They were also told that at this stage, it's unlikely that anything of the game will be shown at E3, it's just too early and AV has been tied up on other projects, especially Nagoshi, who's been overseeing all kinds of games from across Sega's range.

More as it breaks!