TGS 2008: Avatars Required Options

[Xbox-Scene]

TGS 2008: Avatars Required Posted by XanTium | October 9 23:09 EST | News Category: Xbox360

From xboxlive.ign.com: [QUOTE] In a meeting with journalists at TGS this week, Microsoft's group product manager for Xbox 360, Aaron Greenberg, said all users will be required to choose an avatar as a visual representation of themselves when they boot up the new dash. "We're forcing you to have a visual representation of yourself," Greenberg said, when asked if he thought hardcore gamers would be put off by the requirement. "But you can make a pretty badass avatar." However, that doesn't mean you have to use your new friend, or even take more than half a minute creating him or her. At the outset of the Avatar creation process, you'll be greeted by a cavalcade of pre-made Avatars who'll romp onto the screen for your choosing. If you like, you can pick one of these templates and customize it to your liking. Or, if you're the Scrooge McDuck type, you can just button mash until an Avatar is picked and filed away. If you so desire, you never have to use your Avatar again, as the same functions that are in the Guide currently will be available in the NXE. [/QUOTE] Full Story: xboxlive.ign.com

[chorizo1]

Oh Noes!!!!!

Gamers don't like words like "REQUIRED", and "FORCING YOU"

[xjustsumloserx]

glad to hear my gamerpics are now useless

[0794]

Gamers don't like words like "REQUIRED", and "FORCING YOU"

Agreed - i wonder why if using the new interface is optional as previously discussed then why are you forced to create an avatar...how will this be used and why could they not just assign you a default shadow of an avatar if you chose to not create one...

i will probably try and make one similar to myself (like i did on the wii fit) but still i am curious as to this requirement...

[xTKxhom3r]

i hope we can use the XBL camera to put our face on the avatar like face breakers that would be sssiicckk

[MrFish]

glad to hear my gamerpics are now useless

You can, apparently, put them on your avatar's shirt.

--

So yeah, this is an interesting, though somewhat predictable response to the NXE's lukewarm public reception. Don't want people boycotting the new funky avatars? Just exclude everyone from LIVE until they choose one.

Low, Microsoft, low.

[Interfire]

Wow... thanks a lot MS.

[tutu]

Is it me or is Microsoft desperately trying not to lose its hardcore gamer base because of this childish dashboard replacement by constantly pointing out that you "don't need to use it"?

This post has been edited by tutu: Oct 10 2008, 11:32 AM

[irnchriz]

glad to hear my gamerpics are now useless

You can choose to use your Avatar as your gamerpic OR just use your gamerpic.

[hamwbone]

i hope there are at least monsters n stuff. WHat would really rock is if they would make downloadable avatars like DOM, gears of war monsters or masterchief in 3d.

[Charbless]

i hope there are at least monsters n stuff. WHat would really rock is if they would make downloadable avatars like DOM, gears of war monsters or masterchief in 3d.

yeah that would be cool and i go and chainsaw someone else's avatar lol

[seanhassars]

seriously people, who cares if you have to pick an avatar. if you're really that worried about it, maybe you need to take a little break from the xbox and get your priorities straight. as long as it's still going to play your games who cares?

[Reaper527]

i hope there are at least monsters n stuff. WHat would really rock is if they would make downloadable avatars like DOM, gears of war monsters or masterchief in 3d.

unfortunately, the impression i get is that they will only give us tools to make kiddy avatars. i think their promise of "a badass looking avatar" is going to disappoint. i think they believe "badass" == a mii w/ an indiana jones hat

[MrFish]

i hope there are at least monsters n stuff.

Sorry, avatars are rated E so's when children look at your profile it doesn't scare or offend them. Also so the avatars can appear in games without changing the rating.

You can ... just use your gamerpic

No you can't, that's what this whole release is about. So that their awesome friends page will actually have some avatars in it, they're forcing you to make one, which will be pushed to anyone that looks at your LIVE account from the NXE dashboard.

why could they not just assign you a default shadow of an avatar if you chose to not create one

Because if there was a default avatar, everyone that didn't want one would use it. By making you choose from a selection of randomly-generated ones, it's not obvious whether you're looking at one that was lovingly hand-selected like all the fanboys in the videos did, or was the result of someone mashing A so's the thing would fuck off and let him play his game.

seriously people, who cares if you have to pick an avatar. if you're really that worried about it, maybe you need to take a little break from the xbox and get your priorities straight. as long as it's still going to play your games who cares?

Because there doesn't appear to be any way to play your games (assuming you're interested in online play; if you're not, sell your 360 and get a DS) without having a stupid cartoon representing yourself to the world. Even if you don't ever look at it, it's there conveying to other people an impression you don't want to convey. It's like someone forcing you to wear a Power Rangers shirt at all times.

I think anyone considering something like this would do well to consider video phones. Any phone you buy nowadays can do video calling. But no-one uses it. Because the attraction of making a phone call is that the person you're calling can't see you. The whole reason SMS is so popular is because it lets you converse without having to deal with another person in realtime.

Look at the gamercards of anyone you see playing Halo: do they tell you anything about themselves in the profile fields? No, they certainly don't: the profile is either empty, or used for slogans or jokes. The fields in the profile act ually end up being used based on where they appeared on the gamercard, not what their labels said they were for. This should be a clear sign that LIVE users want less imposition of intimacy, not more.

Nintendo had the right idea with the miis: they're not 'your' mii, they're just one of tens of little computer people that live in your wii. Your miis go and visit your friends' wiis, and just kinda appear in the games. You can have miis that you consider 'yours', but the console has nothing to do with that. It certainly doesn't scream to the world HAY ?HERE@S THIS GUYS INTERNET SELF LOOK.

Also, all the avatars look like that bell-end off the Mac adverts.

[Midnight Tboy]

maybe they're "forcing" us to make a visual representation of ourselves, so that when we get our account banned on Live they know what we look like on the police photofit to track us down Look out for lots of avatars with large heads running around on Crimewatch.

I best put a fake moustache on once the update comes out