A big date in the European gamer's calendar is the European Con- sumer Trade Show (ECTS) in London. It's a time for 16-year old boys to polish up their fake IDs, dust off the letters confirming their internship at a large game publisher (printed earlier in the week on letterhead paper sold at exorbitant rates by some enterprising individual), and steal their older sister's eyeliner to provide the beard-fluff on their faces with a bit of added support - so they can try to sneak into the show. By all reports ECTS is like a poor cousin to the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in the U.S., and while that's perhaps being a bit uncharitable, both Sony and Nintendo chose not to attend the show this year - indeed, Nintendo decided to hold its own event at another venue.