Sudden cancellations most likely result to a lot of angry people, especially if it's a cancellation of a next-gen console auction. eBay has suddenly pulled out auctions for pre-ordered PS3s and Wiis.

Joystiq consoles furious eBay traders by saying that eBay was just protecting them. No game platform launch in history has ever gone according to plan -- there will most likely be some delivery difficulties, or even downright re-schedules.

The site continues to say that Sony's history of delays and even Nintendo's past regarding lost DS Lites may bring possible problems for both companies this coming November/December. eBay learned from the Xbox 360 delivery failures, which had eBay customers paying for consoles that never got to them on time. According to Joystiq, "Don't hate on eBay. They're just being responsible."

On the other side, the aggrieved parties felt that eBay was violating its own rules. According to one trader, the Rules for Pre-Sales says that no one should sell something one doesn't have, and that the auction site should ensure that, "ALL Sellers to prove they are legit." In short, eBay should never have allowed anyone to post items without proof of its existence.

What do you guys think, did eBay just save a whole lot of people out there from "opportunistic console campers" or did the auction site wrong its clients by breaking their own law? Feel free to comment below.

Ted Price, Insomniac President, has been a very busy man lately. He's been taking charge of most of the interviews for their newest project, Resistance: Fall of Man. Last time, he was featured while giving a six-part preview, now he sits down with Play Beyond and gives them the background story and the reasons on why their game should be treated better than other FPS games out there.

In the video interview, Ted gives the game's background story and how the main character enters the picture.  Asia is overrun by the Chimera --a parasitic race-- and is taking over Britain. The U.S. sends their troops to help the Brits kick the parasites out, but is immediately wiped out save for one. Sgt. Nathan Hale survives being infected by the virus and continues on fighting with the depleted British troops. However, the game is not told from his point of view but rather from one of the soldiers. In this way, the gamer can observe how the sergeant deals with not only the external aliens he must vanquish, but also the internal demons which he must overcome. Everybody is haunted by their own demons, right?

The variety of gameplay improves thanks to the different enemy AI and unique weapons not normally seen in an FPS. Since the aliens are made up of different forms, they move and attack in different ways. For example, there are some who are team-players and like to swarm while there are those who choose to attack alone, not waiting for reinforcements.

The weapons are not the normal, garden-variety, and Army-issued ones we usually see or hear about, plus it can be combined with other weapons to build a totally different kind of firepower. All these combinations - varied enemy AI, weapon-mixing, third person point of view storytelling- will hopefully make the game more replay-friendly and very engaging.

The First Person Shooter (FPS) genre hasn't really been a hit in Japan, so most were surprised that Resistance will be coming out as a launch title for the PS3. Ted defends the genre by saying that first-person-shooters can bring a lot more to the Japanese audience in terms of story, variety, and great gameplay. He believes his game offers a lot, be it for single, multiplayer or online, compared to many others.

He talks more on how the PS3's graphics power and Blu-ray helped them in creating and developing the game. If you don't want to take our word for it, you can view the whole video on the link below. Do you think Japan will open up to more FPS games because of Resistance: Fall of Man? Why or why not? Let us know through your comments.

Last time, we reported on how Aaron Ruby, book author and writer for Next Generation, was disappointed with the ESRB System. He now gives his personal suggestions on how the system could be more effective to the buying public and less controlled by the people in the U.S. Gov.

1. Make the rating systems transparent, clear, and more in tune with the kind of media it is assigned to rate. In the article, he suggests that there should be a simpler rating system instead of having 5 categories of violence. He's suggesting one with increasingly restrictive ratings.

2. Gameplay oriented rating methods. Last time, playing games before reviewing was presented as a viable suggestion, but some naysayers mentioned that going though WOW and EQII was impossible. Aaron recommends that the raters be allowed to access any part of the game under any kind of level. Cheat codes, level skipping, etc. would be useful under these circumstances.

3. Add technology to new-gen consoles/PCs that can restrict certain rated games from playing. The writer also complains that the three major next-gen consoles have not installed this parental control technology on their platform. He advices that the three giants focus more on cultural wars.

4. Institute a system of online privacy seals. Rather than just rate particular websites, the board should find a way to indicate games with online components to be privacy safe. This means that with all the hackers these days, most people can obtain personal info or can monitor online activity without your knowledge.

He ends his article by saying this: "To some a project like this may seem like rocket science, but in an industry chock full of rocket scientists, this is should hardly be an obstacle." Well, do you think all of his suggestions are feasible or is he just aiming for something unreachable? Do you have other recommendations? You can discuss it here by commenting below.

Nero, Dante, Dante, Nero. Which will it be? Is this going to be a Snake-Raiden redux? There were some rumors that Dante may be available on the early part but eventually, you'll end up with Nero on most of the game. Does it matter? As long as the character looks and acts cool, slashes and shoots down a couple of enemies, most players are happy. But is it enough? GameDaily gives some preview on the game and why Devil May Cry 4 will be way better than most thought.

The writer bases most of his preview on the TGS 2006 presentation, (which we have) where the main hero, Nero, makes more room in the underworld by taking out some demons; slicing them with his sword, unloading some ammunition via-his pistols and punching them to oblivion with his demon fist. He continues by saying that all of the main protagonist's offensive moves can be attached together to form combos. Like a diving competition, he'll be graded on how well he combines gunning, smashing, and cutting up demons. Looks like Nero could be more of a match than ol' Dante.

They went on to say that the graphics looks strong enough to stand on its own (as we reported on a few days ago), but since it's still in heavy development, he's expecting better once this comes out 2007. While we all wait, practice some with the previous Devil May Cry as you may need all the moves mastered to finish this game with flying colors.

Aaron Ruby, the underground gaming culture's spokesperson, has a score to settle with the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). The ESRB has been independently applying and enforcing ratings, ad guidelines, and online privacy since 1994. The writer stated in his opinion column that the system applied to rating games should be different from those currently applied to TV and Movies. How do they give out ratings anyway?

They read and watch. After filling out a questionnaire on what the game's about, the game developers submit it with a footage of the most extreme scenes from the game. The three trained raters (not expert game players--check their site, it's true) from the board then hands out the rating based on what they read from the form and see from the vids--this was the reason why Aaron was disappointed with the board.

According to the writer, "I find it alarming that the ESRB does not bother to base its ratings on the entire experience of playing a game, instead relying far too much on submitted clips..." He ends his piece saying that the Truth In Videogame Ratings Act (which we touched on a few days ago) is proof that the rating system has failed.

We see his point here, game developers may influence the rating by submitting footage they want the board to see. What's the alternative then? According to some people in the community, the board might as well play the game. They might not finish it 100% but it will give more info than just reading a piece of paper or watching some vids.

As gamers, we'd like to get know how you feel about the way the ESRB gives its ratings. If you don't agree with it, what would you suggest? If you do, how can it be improved? Feel free to comment below.

It's been to the PSP, now it's heading to its bigger brother. Last time it was just a rumor, now it's been confirmed by SCEA at TGS: NBA 07 is coming to the PS3. According to Gamespot, the game will be showcasing its 1080p capability. What does this mean? You'll see more hardwood shines, accurately rendered models, and the view will be in HD.

It was mentioned that this version will focus more on the game itself rather than dabble in mini-games. However, as of the moment, there's still some kinks to the game and it hasn't really been developed as of yet. We'll be expecting some changes soon.

We've got a video of the PS3 version available for download. You'll see a Game 6 Finals the Mavericks wish had happened. The figures are still a bit stiff, but as mentioned above, it's still under development. We'll be there once the finished product is out and tell you what we think then. Download link to the video below.

Download: [NBA 07 PS3 Video]

Ever got simultaneously creeped out and awed? We did when we saw flOw. According to 1up, this game showed up at TGS to showcase Sony's own version of a Wiimote. It looks like those animals you see in those oceanic areas where the sun don't reach. It's a bit spooky at first, but it grows on you.

According to other sources, it's originally a flash web-based game, now it's going to be available for download on the PS3. There's no date release scheduled yet. While we await for more info, you can check out the images below. Eerie and beautiful at the same time? Sheesh!

  

This game must be so important that it had to have its own group of bodyguard robots. Wouldn't it help if they got larger sized ones rather than these teenzee winzees? Besides that, there are a heck of a lot of more cool-looking model types than these. To Gundam fans out there, what do you say?

Anyway, we have the Gundam: Target in Sight box art from TGS. Yep, it's for real. We love the cover as well, as our heroic mecha is about to give the enemy its last wishes before its head (and the pilot in it) gets blown to smithereens. War is violent, get on with it.

The game will have you start at the bottom of the barrel. Naturally, the only way is up, and with that are more technologically advanced Mobile Gundam suits and complex missions. Eventually, you'll be heading your own group and successfully teaming up with others will be crucial in surviving this war. While we wait for the November release, you can take comfort that your PS3 game will be secured well as seen below. Hold on, because it looks like this game is going to be a big one!

 

We all know movie piracy is bad. It usually has horrendous lighting, hideous audio, and really bad video output. In this case, Gamespot was allowed to film this presentation. Will it tarnish the video game's graphics output? Let's take a look shall we?

During TGS '06, Bandai showed off a couple of Ridge Racer 7 scenes. The camera man inside the conference had to adjust a bit (therefore the shaky camera and video light changing), but what we saw on the screen looked good regardless. We saw a lot of car-drifting, some nitro-using, and a bit of vehicle-jumping. From the background it looks like this is the one set near the temple with a gigantic Buddha-like structure course.

It's just too bad that we couldn't appreciate the setting more because the car was running so fast! It's all just a blur when you hit that nitro button. Well, the important thing is that you finish ahead of the pack, right? You can view the beautiful backdrop on your victory run along the track later.

Remember how we got "hitched" because of all that Sonic the Hedgehog PS3 box art? Well, we got another PS3 box art. We'd like to show you what we saw at ruliweb. From the looks of it, these are actual TGS shots of the Ridge Racer 7 box art. Are these for real? According to the Japanese site, it is. We've also done some digging and so far, we didn't see any site saying these were fakes. We know you guys are a knowledgeable group, so take a look, investigate for yourselves, and then tell us if you see anything wrong:

  

The game will be out November 2006.

Download: [Ridge Racer 7 Video 1]
Download: [Ridge Racer 7 Video 2]
Download: [Ridge Racer 7 Video 3]

Preorder: [Ridge Racer 7]

Don't be surprised if the people who beats you on online games seem to be getting younger and younger these days--because they really are!

The younger you are, the more chances that you're a gamer. According to the latest NPD Group Study, 45% of "Heavy Gamers" and 1/3 of "Avid Console Gamers" are between the ages of 6-17 debunking the assumption that most hardcore players are within the 18-34 age bracket. Regarding the Gaming Handhelds 1 in 3 are aged 18 to 44. In short, there are more younger hardcore players than thought of initially.

There were other surprising results gathered from the survey. The ladies have begun to play harder - 21% of the mentioned "Heavy Gamers" are females. This supports the report by Nintendo last GC, stating that 44% of the NDS sales came from the women side. It used to be "Hide all the women and children," now it's "Where's my little girl? She'll beat this big boss in minutes."

So should game developers and retailers focus mainly on the heavy gamers? According to Anita Frazier, they shouldn't as there are more broader and larger consumer base than the Heavy Gamers. Whatever your age, sex, or race is... just keep on playing.