- Sunday, 29 November 2009
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Automatic simply means that you can't repair it yourself - Frank Capra
Vole plans Second-Life-a-like
THE VOLE IS PLANNING to outwit its Japanese games console rivals by delivering an online avatar experience like no other. And by 'like no other', we mean 'exactly like all the others'.
Microsoft's Xbox Live online service for Xbox 360 owners has been praised for its integration with games and for being at the forefront of console-based social networking. But in the past year, its position has been usurped - the Nintendo Wii came out and offered fully-customisable player avatars in the form of Miis, and Sony showed off its forthcoming PlayStation Home offering, which allows users to create their own fully-fledged online worlds to live in in a Second Life stylee.
Well, ahead of the E3 gaming conference in LA next month, a series of leaked images appear to show Microsoft's plan to counter the perception that it's falling behind in online customisation - 'Xbox Avatars'. These player characters look almost exactly like a 50/50 cross between the PSHome avatars and Nintendo's Miis, with a fully-formed yet cartoonish look. The Avatars will replace the current Gamer Pictures on the Xbox service.
Launching Avatars at E3 will be particularly sweet for Microsoft if it can pull it off. Sony's Playstation Home was the darling of last year's conference, but the service is still yet to launch and has barely moved beyond private beta. If Microsoft could launch and deliver avatars at the show, it would be a decent PR coup for the Redmondians. µ
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That was one of my deciding factors when I choose a console to buy. OK, play for free on the internet or pay Microsoft $15 a month to play on the internet.
That was an easy choice. Blue Ray has won and having a built in Blue Ray drive is real nice too.
Final Fantasy XIII is not too far off and Amazon says it will be available to buy on December the 13th.
I pay exactly $4.16 a month for my xbox live with the $50 a year plan; That works out to be $1.04 a week, $0.14 a day. That's hella far from $15 a month. you should stop spreading FUD.

I would like this addition to the XBL community, it would be nice if they're interactive.
Blue ray is doing as good as the ps3, ffxiii will NOT be out this year so FAIL pretty much all around!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Home, who cares?

Besides the fact that it isn't EVER coming out, it'd just be nice to get some decent in game XMB on the PS3.

This whole generation of consoles has completely disappointed me and it breaks down like this.

Most people didn't really want a Wii, but the other two were too expensive, so they bought one anyway... now they have a new/old collection of Zelda and Mario games for the fifth time in their life.

1 in 5 Xbox360's die. It is also overpriced.

The PS3 is so completely over-priced that people actually think it is a good deal at $399.00, with 1 controller.

Now, I bought a PS3 and my blu-ray just went paws up, after 6 months... ATI and Nvidia are releasing graphics cards that will beat the ever loving **** out of PS3 graphics, but no company will be developing anything worth having those cards for (anytime soon).

GTA IV was also a major let down. It was, point blank, boring as hell.

Everything about this generation of consoles sucks, and I am going back to that good old platform, as dead as you want to call it, the PC... 

where things make sense and torrents make more sense.

All those companies can do whatever they want...they'll never ever reach the quality and popularity of Second Life when they start always that noob-like, like they used to in the past.

No online virtual metaverse is that flexible, with that high quality graphics and completely made out of its user's content like Second Life is. If someone wants to beat SL he/she/they have again to reinvent the online world, like the founders of SL once did.
All they need now is their own Wiifit clone (and I think I read somewhere that they were planning to copy it) that makes your avatar fatter if you lie on the avatar creation process. Now that was genius on Nintendo's part