Late Late Night Consoling

Apologies for this going up a little later than usual...I just got back from seeing Attack of the Clones, and there's a ton of pre-E3 news to get to. But first, from the Unsubstantiated Rumors Department: I received two anonymous tips suggesting that Nintendo may have some surprises in store for their pre-E3 press conference. One source hinted that a new, backlit GBA might be in the works, while the other said a GameCube price drop isn't as unlikely as the company has said of late. Of course, both of these are 100% rumors, and I haven't heard anything to suggest otherwise, so down these with an ounce or four of salt. Interestingly enough, IGN's rumors column suggests that both Sony and Nintendo will be lowering software prices by $10. Wild. They also drop yet another hint about an Activision/Rare announcement at E3.

• Final Fantasy XI has launched in Japan, and like every massively multiplayer title to proceed it, the game has had a rocky start. GameForms has some great coverage online, including details of some early problems (and Square's official statement) and word that Square has taken some interesting steps to insure the game will not be imported.
• Ready for some more classic games on the GBA? Sega has announced plans to bring Altered Beast and Revenge of Shinobi out (along with a new Space Channel 5), R-Type is being re-re-made for the system and a bunch of old Bitmap Bros. games are on the way as well.
• GameSpot has conducted an interview with Rod Humble, the executive producer of EverQuest Online Adventures. The interview is packed with screenshots, most new.
• Sega had their quarterly report today, so here comes a news blitz: supposedly they'll be announcing a new platform title named Blitz for the Xbox at E3...the company's well on its way to making money again (yay!)...they're working on new arcade hardware for "casual" gamers...new shots from House of the Dead 3 are up at XenGamers...GameSpot has a Q&A with Charles Bellfield up, talking about their online plans (which cover all three systems)...another similar Q&A is up at Team Xbox...they've acquired the rights to several Osamu Tezuka properties...and the PS2 port of Skies of Arcadia will come out during the 2003 fiscal year, not the following one as was previously reported. For other Sega info, check out Cube.IGN's Sega news roundup.
• Hoping for the Xbox port of Grand Theft Auto III at E3? Looks like it'll be a no-show.
• What will be shown is the Xbox port of Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, as well as the long-awaited Tenchu 3.
• A preliminary list of all the console games that will be at the show can be found at GameSpot.
• A trailer for TimeSplitters 2 is up at Team Xbox, and Xbox.IGN has a trailer online for Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick, which is a second Evil Dead game, despite the fact that the first one was remarkably horrible.
• Cube.IGN has some new shots from Super Mario Sunshine.