When Microsoft unveiled its innovative new Mii idea to the world, a lot of people erroneously believed that Microsoft had copied Nintendo in a cynical attempt to capture some of the mythical “casual” market that never existed until 2006. Microsoft, however, has set the record straight about its innovative new Mii idea, claiming that Avatars were the result of logic and not mimicry.
“It’d be remiss to say that we don’t enjoy playing on the other systems and we have a lot of respect for the work that Miyamoto-san and Nintendo do,” stated Xbox Live boss John Schappert. “But I think it’s a logical extension of our Gamercard, Gamertag and Achievements.”
“People want to personalize their Gamertag and so when we look to the future and think about building a brand new Xbox experience, Avatars is a logical extension of that innovation. I think it’s another avenue of self-expression and there are a lot of opportunities here for consumers.”
There, I hope that’s set the record straight and silences those wagging tongues forevermore. Shame on you jaded gamers for thinking that Avatars were anything but the result of Microsoft’s ever-impressive originality. Shame on you indeed.
