Earlier today, Sony's pre-E3 press conference here in Los Angeles announced their PSP handheld console, as we've already covered at Slashdot Games. But there were plenty of other important and interesting announcements in the Sony briefing that we can summarize here, in the same way as we've done for Nintendo's and for Microsoft's pre-E3 press conferences. Read on for info about Gran Turismo 4, Eye Toy, the next Grand Theft Auto, and more..

Nintendo's pre-E3 press conference earlier today in Los Angeles revealed a whole lot more forthcoming goodness for Gamecube and Gameboy Advance, spanning Zelda, Mario, The Sims, Pacman, Metroid, and more - here's a summary. Don't forget to check our previous, briefer story about Microsoft's press conference, and watch out for a round-up of Sony's press event later this evening.

Daetrin writes "IGN.com is reporting that Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo will be showing a new Pac-Man game at E3, developed with (some) help from original Pac-Man creators Namco. It seems to have a very interesting method of utilizing the connectivity between the GBA and the Gamecube. In one of the modes, one player controls Pac-Man using a connected GBA, which shows the traditional top-down view of the maze. The other players use normal Gamecube controllers to control the ghosts, and see a 3D view from inside the maze on the TV screen, which can be split up to three ways for the three player-controlled ghosts." That crazy banjo-playing Miyamoto chap strikes again, eh?

StrikerObi writes "Planet GameCube has posted the first ever footage of Mario Kart Double Dash for the GameCube. It was recorded earlier off of the CNN Headline News television network. The game now has 2 characters riding on each kart, with one driving and the other using weapons. There is also some footage of the new F-Zero GX game in the reel." There's also a torrent file available from the fine folks at GameTab.

An anonymous reader points out Gaming Age have a transcript of last night's Square Enix Japanese conference call regarding the forthcoming Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles for Nintendo Gamecube. Revelations? The game is more arcade-like than conventional Final Fantasy titles, and can be played by up to 4 people simultaneously. Also, the Gameboy Advance can be used as a controller, with added secret/personalized information appearing on the GBA's screen during play. And most obvious of all, it's a new Final Fantasy game.. for Nintendo.

The game and game-tool development company Factor 5, well-known for their early Amiga shooter Turrican, as well as Star Wars:Rogue Leader for Gamecube and Nintendo's Musyx sound system, have announced that they're partnering with DivX Networks to make a DivX development kit for Xbox game developers. This means forthcoming Xbox titles can use the efficient DivX for their video streaming. Factor 5 have previously launched a similar SDK for Gamecube - are there any recent/forthcoming GC titles using it yet?

US conversions of Japanese games can either be beautifully done or amateurishly botched. And the 2D shoot-'em-up (aka shmup) genre has seen both over the past few weeks. First, there's been Atari's conversion of Treasure's vertical 2D shmup for Gamecube, Ikaruga, which has been generally hailed as 'a great thing', with the preservation of turn-to-vertical mode (play with your TV on its side to exactly replicate the arcade version!) and even an online score ranking system. On the other hand, the budget US release of vertical shooter Mobile Light Force 2 (actually Shikigami) from XS Games has prompted howls of derision from the hardcore fans, with a bizarre Charlie's Angels-aping cover that has nothing to do with the game, and vertical mode and cut-scenes removed. But then, the game is still fundamentally intact - so how much should these import changes matter if you can snag the game cheap? Opinions, as always, welcome.

According to IGN.com, the word is that Star Fox Armada for Gamecube will debut at E3. This is a Namco-developed title packing "flight-based missions and action-packed dogfights", and will be shown on the Nintendo stand either as video or a multiplayer-only playable demo. Looks like it should have a more traditional Starfox feel than Rare's Starfox Adventures, which was an action-adventure at heart, and only rebranded to include Fox McCloud partway through development.

Several readers point out the new preview of Enter The Matrix over at Gamespy. The staff there got a chance to play a near-final version of the Shiny-developed game, minus the hour of new movie footage that'll be included when it ships on May 15th for PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, and PC. Other previews (such as this one at Gamespot) have been positive, if slightly guarded. Do you know kung fu?

Xs writes "GameSpot.com has confirmed the new Metal Gear Solid title for GameCube titled, Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes. The game sports the original MGS plot, but with totally revamped graphics. Plus, the game is being supervised by both Hideo Kojima and Shigeru Miyamoto! Sounds pretty awesome - hopefully they will add more than just the upgraded graphics." This was one of the best games around back when the Playstation was all the rage. With the resources of the GameCube thrown at this game, it could be gorgeous to behold.

After being rumored on newsgroups and messageboards for a while, larger news sources like IGN.com are reporting the likely imminent price drop for all 3 major consoles in the US. This would make the Playstation 2 $149, the Xbox $149, and the Gamecube just $99. If true, will this spur you into buying one or all of these consoles?

Xs writes "SPOnG.com has an article on two new pieces of hardware coming out of Nintendo today. One of which is a new e-Reader, the e-Reader Plus, that can store data while the GBA is off. And the other is a Gamecube memory card that can read Panasonic SD generic media storage cards. Not only does this increase the maximum storage capacity per Gamecube slot, but this also opens up the ability to trade save game files online via a PC!" I've yet to buy an e-Reader, and this makes me think I should hold off for a while longer.

AvantLegion writes "According to this IGN article (which, in turn, is cited from Yahoo! via the Investor's Business Daily), the Grand Theft Auto series will debut on Xbox and GameCube in 2004. A month after the next GTA game is released on PS2 (thus completing Rockstar's exclusive contract with Sony), the Xbox and Gamecube versions of Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City are supposed to hit the streets. No one is safe."

The list of games to be shown at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles next month is rapidly increasing, and this Eurogamer feature has a round-up of what's been announced so far. There's always plenty of new titles and surprises, and this year is no exception. A notable list comes from Sega, and includes the Sonic Team title Billy Hatcher And The Giant Egg for Gamecube, more spiky hedgehog action with Sonic Heroes for GC/PS2/XBox, as well as Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D Revolution, a card battle RPG for GC that continues the successful franchise. Another major company showcasing its line-up is Nintendo, who has an E3 preview page that includes the now two-seater Mario Kart: Double Dash for GC and the eagerly awaited Advance Wars 2 for Gameboy Advance, as well as several Nintendo-bound Final Fantasy titles in association with Square/Enix. More updates as we get them.

News for nerds writes "Eidos, maker of Tomb Raider, said it doesn't plan to make games for Xbox Live because Microsoft controls the system and manages subscriptions itself, leaving no incentive for a publisher to collaborate. Sony's approach is to sell just the equipment needed to connect to other's services, such as those run by game makers. Electronics Arts, which makes titles such as 2002 FIFA World Cup and NHL 2003 for the Xbox console, is also reluctant to join Microsoft's system, while supporting GameCube."

filmsmith writes "It looks like Nintendo may be interested in using the GBA to enter the PDA market and even considering itself competition for the Apple iPod. It smells of DMCA pandering, though. 'It looks like protection will be in place to ensure that even content recorded by users (through the use of a special adapter) will not be able to be shared with other users.' Planet Gamecube has the article here."

Xenex writes "From Planet GameCube: Nintendo today announced a US March 23rd release date for their Game Boy Advanced SP system. The GBA SP features a clamshell design that when folded is 3-inch square and an inch thick. The unit will also be also front lit, and totally backwards compatible with all previous Game Boy software." As any GBA owner can tell you, the screen in earlier models sucked pretty terrible. I'm looking forward to trying this one out.

Magamo writes "Console Talk has the story on a settlement between Sony and Nintendo over the rights to the "PlayStation" name, which was originally a joint owned copywrite, given to a CD and Cartridge based system to play SNES games. The settlement is for 10% of Sony's proceeds, past and present on the "PlayStation" name, currently amounting to approximately $2.3 billion. Nintendo is allowing Sony to pay it off in installments over the next 20 years. Nintendo currently plans on using the money to create a new game studio comprised of members of some of the biggest in the japanese industry, in order to create titles exclusively for the GameCube. Hmm, my guess is that Sony's next console will be shying away from the PlayStation moniker..." CD: It seems that I might have fallen for a hoax. Doh!

rosewood writes "Shacknews' Jason Bergman, aka loonyboi has his 'Holiday Buying Guide 2002' up and ready to read. PC, Gamecube, PS2, Xbox, and Gameboy Advance and over 70 games are covered! You can also look up how other games have rated each game at Shackreviews." Not every game is touched on in-depth, but it's a great resource to narrow down the choices for that special gamer in your life.

ytzombe writes "Gamespot News is reporting that for about 5000 yen an attachment will be available to play GBA games on the Gamecube. The serial port underneath the system will be the gateway to the device and will include a port to enable multiplayer games. This will finally allow me to play the Castlevania games without fusing my naked retina to the screen."