How dare I post console news the day Half-Life 2 goes gold! Oh well, DEAL WITH IT! =D Man, could Vivendi Universal pick a more crowded date? I already knew about Metal Gear Solid 3 and Metroid Prime 2, but guess what else comes out that week: Baten Kaitos, Blinx 2, Call of Duty: Finest Hour, Capcom Fighting Evolution, EA's and ESPN's college hoops, GoldenEye: Rogue Agent, Need for Speed Underground 2, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, and Viewtiful Joe 2. Let's not forget about the Nintendo DS and all its games just five days later. That's just unbelievable. Understandably, all the publishers want their games on the shelves before the post-Thanksgiving rush, but it's sad that some titles are not going to get much recognition as they battle against the sequels of established franchises.

	GTA: San Andreas Soundtrack Details Emerge Rockstar has released new details concerning the soundtrack for its upcoming Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. First, they set up an interactive website that offers information and sound clips on the ten radio stations inside the game. More importantly, however, was the announcement of two soundtracks: a "best of" compilation and an eight-disc set. The game itself will contain over 150 tracks, featuring artists such as Tupac, James Brown, Rick James, Public Enemy, Cypress Hill, and good 'ol Willie Nelson. Both soundtracks will be available November 23.
	Xbox 2 Announcement in January? It has been confirmed today that Bill Gates will be giving the keynote speech at next year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The trade show takes place early January, with Bill Gates giving his speech the night before on January 5. What could the world's richest man be planning to talk about? How about the successor to his Xbox console? The 2000 CES was rumored to be the event to announce Microsoft's entry into the console market, but was pushed back to the Game Developers Conference. He did, however, use the 2001 CES to showcase a near-final design of the Xbox.
	EA's PSP Launch Lineup Warren Wall, a producer at EA's PSP-only development studio Team Fusion, has confirmed that six titles are on the way for the North America launch of the PSP. The named titles so far are Need for Speed Underground Rivals, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, NBA Street, and NFL Street. Wall told us to expect "a couple more titles that have yet to be revealed." Wall also said that adding in a multiplayer component is "as easy as a 2-player match-up on a home console."
	MX vs. ATV Offroad sports gamers have a new game to look forward to. Rainbow Studios are going to pit two-wheeled motocross racers against four-wheeled ATVs in MX vs. ATV Unleashed. "Our development team's first-hand riding experience and passion for off-road sports has set extremely high standards for every racing game we've built," said Rainbow Studios' Scott Novis. The team is shooting for a February 2005 release.
	Tenchu: Fatal Shadows Confirmed for US Originally announced for release in Europe, Sega has now confirmed that the latest entry into the Tenchu series, Tenchu: Fatal Shadows, will be coming stateside early next year. Exclusive to the PS2, the new game features two ninjas: old-timer Ayane and newcomer Rin. Gamers are to expect more melee action mixed into deep stealthy gameplay. Ships February 2005 and is set to retail for $49.95.
	Region-Free DS At least one portable won't have region-locking; Nintendo has gone on record as saying the Nintendo DS will be region-free. If you're unfamiliar with the term, that means any game from any continent (such as North America, Europe, and Asia) will work on any DS. Consoles and DVD players lock-out discs from other regions, so for instance DVD players sold in North America only play DVDs sold in North America. As noted last week, PSP software will be region-locked.
	Kessen III to Head West Koei's Kessen III has been given the greenlight to travel across the Pacific for landfall in North America. Set for release later this year in Japan, the series has focused on strategy gameplay set in the era of feudal Japan. It'll arrive in the US sometime in the first quarter of next year.
	Misc. Q&As/Features Wired has an article up that tries to explain this whole ILoveBees.com phenomenon and how it relates to Halo 2.
	Misc. Media/Previews
	GameSpot takes an exclusive look at gang life in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. IGN has a couple new shots of the same game. GameMethod takes a look at Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.
	At FileShack, we host the Mjolnir Mix of the Halo Theme that's going to kickoff Halo 2 (composed by Marty O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, guitar by Steve Vai). IGN has a ton of media for Jade Empire. GameSpot slaps up 21 new screens of Dead or Alive Ultimate. GameDaily tell us about MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf. GameSpy takes a stab at previewing Iron Phoenix.
	IGN gives it their all in this media-laden preview of Viewtiful Joe 2.
	GameSpot has the latest screens for GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (PS2, Xbox, GCN) and a trailer for Need for Speed Underground 2 (PS2, Xbox, GCN). Game Informer shares the latest screens for FIFA Street (PS2, Xbox, GCN). TeamXbox has the latest shots of Scrapland (PS2, Xbox) and a trailer for Miami Vice (PS2, Xbox). Games Domain tells us their take on Destroy All Humans! (PS2, Xbox). 1up goes bare-knuckles in this preview of Capcom Fighting Evolution (PS2, Xbox).