Not content with pitting PSP systems in a battle royale, IGN PSP has created some loving fanfiction for the PSP. It imagines the "greatest E3 press conference" ever. In their imaginary E3, Jack Tretton goes on stage during the E3 keynote: "Last year, we introduced the PSP Slim and sales shot through the roof," he says with a grin. "This year, we're done screwing around."

There on out, a slew of megaton announcements would come. In-game XMB (coming soon to PS3!), downloadable games direct to PSP (a promised feature), downloadable music and movies from the PLAYSTATION Store, tons of PS1 downloadables (such as Metal Gear Solid, Vagrant Story). Oh, and the announcement of games like Patapon 2, the next Syphon Filter and a brand new Vib-Ribbon.

Of course, this is but a dream -- but it's a dream we can all share. Definitely check out IGN for a so-bad-it's-good Photoshop of Phil Harrison crying.

PSP Fanboy seem a little slow these days? Good reason. I've been on break for the past week ... but things are revving up for this week's E3 summit. We've arrived in Los Angeles, ready to attack the Santa Monica hangar and all the games that will surely be held within.

Tell us what games you'd like for us to focus on, and we'll try our best to survive the crowd of thousands that will be in attendance. Make sure you stay tuned to both PS3 Fanboy, PSP Fanboy and Joystiq for the latest in E3 coverage. Here are some key points in our schedule (which is bound to change):

Tuesday
Killzone 2 event

Wednesday
Sony keynote - 10:30AM PST
Konami press conference - 5:45PM PST (More Metal Gear Solid 4?!)
Sony Online Entertainment meeting

Thursday
Square Enix hands-on
SCEA interviews (Jack Tretton?!)
Folklore hands-on
SCEA hands-on

Friday
LittleBigPlanet hands-on

There's going to be a lot more to see ... tell us what you want, and we'll try our best to cover it for you!

Microsoft VP and Xbox creator, J Allard made a bet with Newsweek's N'Gai Croal, that the PSP wouldn't be able to match the PS2 numbers when it came to units shipped over a 12-month period. Judging from the screenshot, we can tell who lost. Hey J, do those dreads itch?

The bet originated from playful dinner conversation between Croal and Allard after E3 in 2005. If Sony hadn't managed to ship over 10 million, N'Gai would have had to "J Allard" his head. Yes sir, shaved bald. Although humorous, we're not entirely convinced the punishment is exactly fitting. Why not up the ante and increase the stakes a bit? Now, a more fitting gesture of good faith would be to snap a picture of a purchase order receipt (courtesy of J Allard) for 50 PSP units. An early Christmas gift for every hard worker in J's office. Or for those Halo fans, how about an agreement to instigate talks with the powers-that-be on porting some 1st party software to the PSP? After all, with that with that many units shipped, Microsoft would have a nice, big user base of which to unleash their gaming pleasures upon. Ooh, now we're talking. So how about it J? Any other numbers you want to bet against?

[Via CVG]

With E3 seemingly now a shadow of its former self, the gaming industry's focus may shift to the Tokyo Game Show, which just so happens to be only a mere seven days away. TGS 2006 goes from Sept. 22 through 24 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan. And to whet your appetite, Sony has released a preliminary list of the PSP lineup that should be in playable form at the event.

• Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception (Namco Bandai Games)
• Bounty Hounds (Namco Bandai Games)
• Boxers Road 2: The Real (Ertain)
• Gundam Battle Royale (Namco Bandai Games)
• Homestar Portable* (Sega)
• Jan-Sangokumusou (Koei)
• Jeanne D'Arc (Sony Computer Entertainment)
• Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel (Konami)
• Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops* (Konami)
• Minna no Golf-jou* (Sony Computer Entertainment)
• Monster Hunter Portable 2nd (Capcom)
• Navigation Software* (working title) (Edia)
• Ratchet and Clank Portable (working title) (Sony Computer Entertainment)
• Sarugettchu Piposaru Racer (Sony Computer Entertainment)
• Tales of the World Radiant Mythology (Namco Bandai Games)
• Tenchi no Mon 2: Busouden (Sony Computer Entertainment)

(* – supports GPS)

In addition the already mentioned games, Sony will show new video of 35 more titles. I believe the big story here is how effectively the GPS games use the add-on. If Sony can get software that show the peripheral is more than a gimmick, the PSP may be able to gain some ground on the DS.

(Via Gamespot)

NOTE: This editorial is the opinion of Andrew Yoon, and does not represent the opinion of PSP Fanboy, Joystiq or Weblogs, Inc.

Every video game convention, there's a "winner" of some sorts. It's pretty safe to say that the Nintendo Wii "won" the last E3, proving that waving around our hands can be fun. Not only did the Wii prove that the control scheme works, there was an amazing list of exclusives, from Nintendo's own Mario to third party efforts, like Red Steel. Nintendo wowed the crowd at E3 because of the amazing quality and potential of the games for its system.

Did Nintendo pull the big win at the Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany this year? No. Did Microsoft? No. Sony took the win for this year's show, but not because of a great showing of PlayStation 3 goods (there were none at the show), but because of Konami's absolutely excellent lineup of upcoming PSP games. Yes, you heard me right: PSP "won" Leipzig.

My timing on snatching up a good 5 minutes with the Metal Gear Digital Graphic Novel was impeccable. Situated directly across the walkway of the Tecmo booth and next to Atlus' wonderful booth, the seat on the white bench called to me with the strength of a siren's song. I didn't think I would be able to hear anything from the unit, yet surprisingly there was little traffic there for the 5 minutes leading up to the Tecmo girls strutting out for their annual thing while I watched the digital comic unfold.

As for the artwork and voice work on the E3 build I was privileged enough to spend some time with, they were both very good. The panning was tastefully executed and Ocelot's dialogue, which took up most of what little time I had for the demo, was rich and powerful. Their pistol dual re-enacted from Metal Gear Solid was incredible. Overall the package seemed to be on par with, if not better than, The Silent Hill Experience UMD and has easily made my list of 'must buy' when it releases next month.

When I sat down to play Sonic Rivals next to the subway area of the PSP section at E3, I didn't know what to expect. I'm not exactly the biggest fan of Sonic anymore, to be honest, so with the presence of Shadow in the game, to say I was a bit put off is a big understatement. However, I decided to give it a whirl, and immediately after I was glad I did.

Sonic Rivals is a homage to the grassroots Sonic of old; it is a mixture of 2D side-scrolling action that takes place in 3D rendered environments. Essentially, the goal of the game, from what little I could gleam from the single level that was playable in the E3 demo build, was to defeat your opponent in a race from Point A to Point B, with your opponent being Shadow and the player taking up control of Sonic. It felt like the old Sonic, however the inclusion of what appeared to be small vaulting pads brought the game to a halt.

These pads, which were small and brown, yet noticeable enough on the map, upon being touched would cause Sonic to do a front somersault over them. In timing your pressing of the X button while he slowly vaults, you can shoot Sonic in any direction, with the ultimate goal of sending him down an alternate, and hopefully faster, path. On my second play through of the demo, I nearly avoided every one of these and kept the speed going, however I was bested by Shadow and realized that however mismatched I felt their inclusion was, these pads were neccesary in order to succeed. Without these pads' presence, however, the game played exactly like the Sonic titles of old.

PSP owners aren't really hard pressed for another racing game, so Juiced Eliminator has that much more to prove coming right out of the gate. This isn't necessarily a mediocre game, the developers just have to step it up and make it shine in the midsts of other racing titles.

The demo level I tried out allowed me to set up all of the environmental conditions from the beginning. Rain, morning, night, sunshine and blue skies: the versatility here was a nice feature, but not uncommon to the genre. The controls were done well enough to keep your attention span, and the nitro boost added an extra level of speed. If only there was a way to get some back after using it all up. Overall, Juiced Eliminator is slightly above average, but hardcore racing fans might want to look elsewhere.

The real question is: Do PSP fans really want another racing game?

There's a strong argument that the PSP needs more games like Killzone Liberation. It doesn't feel like a forced experience similar to certain titles that seem to flare up on the portable console. The top-down view works perfectly and the game mechanics don't choke when things get hasty on the buttons.

We're still not sure why Konami was so defensive about the new Coded Arms, considering that they wouldn't let us into their press event and all, but it could have something to do with the complete awkwardness of the game.

When I showed up to finally see what Contagion was all about, I was a little bit disappointed with how uncomfortable the whole thing felt between my hands. Graphically, it was okay for an FPS on the PlayStation Portable. Not any better looking than the first installment though.

At first glance, this portable platformer shares an uncanny resemblance to the PS2 iteration. Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters takes advantage of the PSP's power very well. There were a few little nuances that stood out, but considering it was only a demo, it still means good things for platforming fans on Sony's portable.