Xbox Live Avatar Remake On Its Way!

It looks like Xbox Live Avatars will soon be getting a remake.

A few "beta" avatars have been already been spotted in the wild - including that of Microsoft's Major Nelson. The new avatars appear more realistic and less cartoony/bobble-head. Most theorize that this change is so the avatars will work better with the soon to be released Kinect system.

Expect the new avatar design to probably be part of Xbox's yearly fall update and out in time for Kinect's November release.

Free Avatar

Microsoft released an interesting little toy on xbox.com - Free Your Avatar. It allows anyone to make various pictures with Xbox Live avatars.

You type in someone's gamertag and it pulls up their avatar. You then drag the avatar into the picture where you can move it around and/or resize it. You can even drag in multiple avatars. You can also add in a background and a line of text.

But you can only add one line of text(in black or white). If you want to add other lines, you'll have to do it with a picture editor after exporting the image.



The weird thing about it is that you can use anyone's avatar. So you can make pictures with griefers and people you have problems with on Xbox Live.

Opinion: Xbox 360's Avatars

I like the New Xbox Experience (NXE). It's slick and interesting. But I really like the Avatars. I don't know why I like them, but I do. I mess with my Avatar all the time.

Reactions to the Avatars have been interesting. Critics decry them as simply rip-offs of Miis. And they definitely are influenced by Miis. But they're so much more.

First off, the option of changing the clothing and having different clothes and such to choose from is one of the biggest improvements. People complain that in the future Microsoft will make money in microtransactions from selling clothing items and outfits on Xbox Live. And believe me, that will be coming. But if you don't like it, don't buy it! It's that simple. There's plenty of free clothes available and more on the way. (They just released some winter clothes as modeled by my Avatar.)

I, personally, will spend some money on such things if I find something I like, but that's what I do - spend money needlessly in order to help the economy.

I can also see the Avatars helping companies with pre-orders or limited edition sales. Include a code to download limited clothing items that pertain to the game? That would sell. Believe me, having my Avatar be able to wear a Gears of War outfit would be much cooler than a gold lancer(sorry, Charlie).

I also find the Avatars interesting because most people work hard to make their Avatar look like themselves. But some people just work to make their Avatar look like a freak. One thing I found odd about the Avatars is that you can't really make them that fat. My Avatar is as fat as they get, and he's not that fat.

I also like the way that you can take various pictures of your Avatar and use that as your Gamerpic. Of course, this makes the vast majority of the Gamerpics I've accumulated over the years worthless. Maybe they could make an option where I could put a cool Gamerpic on a T-shirt for my Avatar...

   

Rumor: Microsoft Avatars?

In another rampant rumor, Microsoft may be bringing "Avatars" to the Xbox 360 to replace Gamerpics. The Avatars are basically Microsoft's version of Nintendo's Miis. Supposedly, gamers will be able to use them in a variety of arcade and retail games. There will also be "hundreds" of clothing options.

The rumor supposedly come from an independent survey. The avatars are rumored to be available "this holiday for all Xbox Live connected members" and "this Spring for all new console owners."

I was able to view the image on the original site earlier in the day, but it has since been taken down.

I think I'd like the Avatars. But they shouldn't get rid of the Gamerpics. Both should be options. Otherwise, people who paid for Gamerpics are screwed if they just get rid of them all. I like Miis on the Wii so I think I'd like Avatars because they seem like higher tech Miis with more options. They actually have clothes instead of just changing the color of their shirt!