E308: Avatar clothing could be unlocked using game achievements

by Dustin Burg { Jul 15th 2008 at 11:45AM }

Coming straight from Microsoft's Community Briefing yesterday (the same one where we got the chance to nibble on delicious chocolate delights), we learned that an Avatar's wardrobe could not only be comprised of those items offered through normal channels, but could potentially come from the earning of game achievements.

Team Microsoft said that the potential is there and developers are showing interest in offering unlockable Avatar content using game achievements. Think of items like a Gears of War 2 tshirt for your Avatar to wear if you earn the Seriously achievement or the unlock of a special ninja mask for completing Ninja Gaiden II on the hardest difficulty. It'd be an extra incentive to go after an achievement IF the achievement itself isn't enough, but the rub here is that you have to actually care about your Avatar's clothing. Us, we're all about forgoing the whole wardrobe unlock thing, sporting a naked Avatar and getting double the game's Gamerscore.

Tags: avatars, community-briefing, e3-08, e3-2008, e308, microsoft

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

joey @ Jul 15th 2008 11:55AM

CAN MY AVATAR SCORE A LANCER?

MilesLocMan @ Jul 15th 2008 11:59AM

i love the idea of unlocking clothing but you know they will charge for most clothing and accessories on the market place and a lack of cool looking free stuff will cause a lot of avatars to look way to similar and that is just not cool

taco @ Jul 15th 2008 12:05PM

I don't know, there are an awful lot of free gamerpics on the marketplace, hopefully the situation continues with avatars. And hopefully games will include free ones, like some games include gamerpics.

Dralthi @ Jul 15th 2008 12:38PM

It doesn't take long or cost much to get an artist to make a bunch of gamerpics though.

These are 3D and require a 3D artist to make clothing and accessories for.

You can bet your bottom dollar that M$ is going to charge for better looking clothing and accessories.

Dralthi @ Jul 15th 2008 12:44PM

Agreed.

victor360hd @ Jul 15th 2008 11:58AM

GReat Idea So I Finish GTA4 100% So now i have niko clothes HAHAHA Nice

taco @ Jul 15th 2008 12:00PM

My avatar suggestions:

1) Less cartoony models (i.e., Splicers from BioShock)
2) Non-human models (dinosaurs, dragons, robots, etc)
3) Abstract models (Say, the blue power-ups from Rez, companion cubes, etc)

Dralthi @ Jul 15th 2008 12:42PM

I agree. They look too close to Nintendo's Miis. But they aren't as complex as Sony's Home avatars.

I'd like to see something a little more in-between rather then closer to the Miis.

David @ Jul 15th 2008 12:10PM

For those that have gs wh0r3d their ways through the game Avatar, what will they get for their MS Avatar?

And a masterchief helmet, carrying a lancer, and sporting a plasmid hand may be cool.

But the masterchief helmet might clash with Altairs hood...

Dirty Whirlwind @ Jul 15th 2008 12:10PM

I still think gamer pictures can be applied as t-shirt prints for our avatars, if we want to.

Dralthi @ Jul 15th 2008 12:43PM

That's a great idea.

Dralthi @ Jul 15th 2008 12:41PM

I think it sounds like a cool idea. I think it would be awesome if after finishing Gears of War 2 you unlock a COG soldier outfit for your avatar.

I wonder how complex the outfits and accessories can get?

NukeAssault @ Jul 15th 2008 12:56PM

I was just thinking that. But yeah it sounds pretty cool. =P

Etchasketchist @ Jul 15th 2008 12:44PM

These are not "avatars". They're dolls. Don't kid yourself.

uh-oh polio @ Jul 15th 2008 12:57PM

hmmmm, i seem to have heard about something like this elsewhere before. But i cant think of it. 0o well, i guess ill go Home

Ryan Hartman @ Jul 15th 2008 1:00PM

So it's become a perverse hybrid rip-off of Sony's Home and Nintendo's Miis, huh? An abomination unto the lord, if you will.

I'm REALLY luke warm on the whole avatar thing. I'm totally cereal over here. Avatars are pointless fluff that morons get giddy over (see: Nintendo Wii crowd). I don't need to see this stupid crap bleeding across all 3 platforms.

psychohog @ Jul 15th 2008 5:46PM

Word.

Neeko @ Jul 15th 2008 1:10PM

Hey nothing wrong with being able to add more options. if you dont like the avatar idea KEEP IT MOVING. Dont worry about yours.. but i bet most of the people who are bashing them now will see someone with a cool avatar and change there mind.

I want mine to look like Assassins Creed or maybe SONIC.

Neeko @ Jul 15th 2008 1:12PM

Does it really matter were it might have originated from?

Some people just like to complain for fun i see. Having the avatar is not gonna make u less of a "HARDCORE GAMER"

WHATEVER THAT REALLY IS!

Eddie @ Jul 15th 2008 1:29PM

Actually, we don't have to define "Hardcore" to determine that Avatars will clearly stand in the way of Hardcoreness. Just by the pure fact that these Avatars don't appear to be a side feature of the interface- they will pervade every aspect of the new features we ACTUALLY want like the party system, dash redesign, etc -we will spend less time being whatever a hardcore gamer is and more time making sure our stupid Avatars are up to snuff. I think that's what hits so centrally to this issue: we consider the 360 to be the hardcore console because it has been so committed to the gaming experience, which is what we care about more than surfing the web or hooking up to an iPod or whatever else (though it does these other things well). Now, it looks as though they are abandoning that position to draw in casual gamers, which draws casual games, which makes less space and room for the hardcore games that brought us all to this console that are hardly casual, hardly family friendly and whose Live experiences will include insults to your origin, race, sexuality, color preference, family, future family, choice of vehicle (or lack thereof), and anything else that can be mocked. And you know what? We LIK it that way. Leave it alone, improve it, but don't trade a good thing for a mediocre thing just because that's what everyone else is going after.

Rant over.

psychohog @ Jul 15th 2008 5:53PM

I agree 100 percent with Eddie. I don't want to play with a bunch of tards that get offended if I say fuck during a game of uno.

Eddie @ Jul 15th 2008 1:20PM

Sorry guys, didn't know where else to put this, but is it funny to anybody else that the X3F Live E3 Chat was solid and pretty techy, while the Wii Fanboy "Live chat" was really just a circa 1990 chat and a blog post duct taped together? I wonder if the PS3 E3 Live Chat will take up the entire screen and sport a lot of crazy animations and graphics but will only have about 5 minutes worth of content...?

horngreen @ Jul 15th 2008 1:32PM

Wow who knew? It looks like I have a Wii after all. Yes they will charge and YES morons will pay. Just reading some of these comments that is evident. So not only will the brick and 1x6 shelves covered in video games and Master Chief figurines tell the world your lame status but now your virtual dork clone can sport a T-shirt telling all that you have indeed spent too much time playing Gears. It will be helpful for me in determining who to delete from my friends list. "Gee it looks like xXxSnipaGanstaKilla420xXx actually spent 200 points on a Jar Jar shirt for his avatar" CYA!

vor @ Jul 27th 2008 9:53AM

xXxSnipaGanstaKilla420xXx yea... with a gamertag like that a Jar Jar shirt is whats going to make him "UNCOOL" enough for you to take him off your friends list?

srw985 @ Jul 15th 2008 1:37PM

I want my avatar to be naked.

diamondxp @ Jul 15th 2008 1:39PM

I like the avatar idea it will let you personalize your gamertag. I am all for it kudos MS for reacting to the casual market but keep true to the hardcore players.

S_SLY @ Jul 15th 2008 2:05PM

Haha, it’s hard enough shopping for clothes that fit me in the real world. Imagine trying to find them in the labyrinthine marketplace.

dunnypop @ Jul 15th 2008 3:59PM

this is a great idea.
achievements finally mean something besides a gamerscore.

Kruegmeister @ Jul 15th 2008 5:09PM

I'm sure Microsoft and/or EA will figure a way to charge us for clothing...

josearoldan @ Jul 15th 2008 5:24PM

Ill I have to play over Dead Rising again to get a bloody yellow lego look a like head for my avatar?

josearoldan @ Jul 15th 2008 5:25PM

yikes that was supposes to say *Will I...*

Bobicus @ Jul 15th 2008 6:44PM

WOW worst rant ever....
you really think it is a bad idea to make getting an achievement worth a shit and not completely point less, why are you going to be mad at something that has no effect on gaming if you are a hardcore gamer than you should be playing not looking at your avatar for hours on end. If you dont like it dont use it but dont say it is stupid idea even if i never use it it is better than just pic. BOOYAH

Boff @ Jul 16th 2008 6:22AM

I'm willing to bet my own mother that MS will use the Avatars as an excuse to increase the prices on the Martketplace.

Bye bye Gamerpics, hello Avatar clothing! Kerrrrrr-ching!!!

"But they're 3D outfits! OF COURSE they're going to cost more!"

sfgiant25 @ Jul 16th 2008 1:42PM

I can't believe people are complaining about these avatars. The person who said it best was the guy who said that if you don't like it don't use it, it's just an option. That makes perfect sense to me, if you don't like it, don't use it.
An example of how dumb that is, is me going to a restaurant and seeing waffles on the menu. In reaction to this I get pissed yell at the manager, storm out of the restaurant, and never go there because I hate the taste of waffles. Nobody is making you get waffles it's just a choice, so are avatars.
One other thing, personally I think avatars are awesome. Sure there a rip off of mii's but I love mii's. Whenever I played my friends Wii all we did was make mii's of famous people and friends. There was however a lack of customization as you couldn't choose clothes just the colors of the shirts. Now on XBOX we have so many options it's going to be awesome, I can't wait to see these in action. When do they come out?

ben @ Aug 31st 2008 3:35AM

fable 2 good/evil... might be ok if you can make it look like the characters from games. if you cant itl be gay.

Chuck Norris @ Sep 3rd 2008 4:28PM

its not THAT bad of an idea. microsoft is just doing what they think is best for business. The fact that you can customize the clothing with clothing you get from achievements sounds pretty bad ass. Sure they'll make you buy a lot of clothing, but the ones you unlock will most likely be cooler. a fallout 3 gas mask helmet(from one trailer) a bionic commando bionic arm, a ghost busters proton pack and some other stuff will be better than a 1,000 point tux. the one thing that really pisses me off is that there wont be weapons. I mean if you beat gears 2, you should get a lancer even if its a weapon. If you own gears, you'll old enough to have a lancer for your avatar. And fuck the people complaining. Like every one else is saying, its a option, it doesn't ruin the game.