Nintendo 3DS eShop now dated for June

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Nintendo's eShop, an online marketplace for the 3DS handheld, will go live on June 6 in North America and June 7 in Europe and Japan.

The June 7 date coincides with a Nintendo presentation at the Electronics Entertainment Expo, one of the year's biggest platforms for new game and console announcements.

The eShop is to become the 3DS's extension of the Wii and DS Virtual Console channel.

It will offer classic games from Nintendo, Sega, and NEC consoles, as well as titles from the DSiWare store.

Come June, 3DS owners will need to update their system software via wifi connection in order to activate the eShop.

Nintendo is expected to reveal its new home console at E3 - currently known as Project Café - with more on 3Ds games Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and the new Super Mario.

Sony has its new portable, the NGP, to push, while Microsoft is expected to tout both the Kinect's mainstream appeal alongside more traditional Xbox 360 fare.