MS not planning to profit on Avatar clothing sales

[Queasy]

Good news if true

We recently showed you what kind of fashions you can spend about $20 on to make your PlayStation Home avatar look just a little more snazzy. For 49 cents, you too can wear a virtual cowboy hat ? or at least your Home avatar can.

So is this the future? A world of cheap avatar fashion purchases?

Sony seems to believe in it. Microsoft, I?ve learned, does not.

The day before Home launched I got a (clearly unrelated) briefing from Xbox product manager Aaron Greenberg and I brought up this topic. I asked: When/how/how-often will we see cheap clothing options for our Xbox 360 Avatars available for paid download?

?I don?t think there?s where you?re going to see a tremendous amount of revenue,? Greenberg said, phrasing his expression of Microsoft?s disinterest in selling Avatar clothing in way that argues there?s no profit in such a technique. Recently, Microsoft gave away the first batch of new Avatar clothing for free. They don?t think they?re leaving money on the table.

The kind of Avatar upgrading that Microsoft is interested in will involve gamers unlocking items for their Avatars through the games they are playing. The tools for this are now in the hands of developers. So when will we experience the first results? ?As soon as developers get it done,? Greenberg said.

So is 49 cents too much for a cowboy hat? Is paid clothing for avatars not the way to go? Or is it a worthwhile optional offering for a service like Home or Xbox Live?

(It should be noted, of course, that Home and all of the PlayStation Network?s services are free. Xbox Live Silver, the service that supports Avatars is free as well. Xbox Live Gold, which is required for multiplayer gaming, costs $50.)

 

[Kabob]

AKA "We're not going to put many out" or "we'll sell it for a price and consider it 'breaking even' for the time we've spent."

 

[R Nilla]

I expect to see clothes and things unlocked through games, as that is a natural progression from unlocking gamer pics through games / achievements, but I also fully expect to see some 'premium' content that MS charges for. I would be amazed if they don't ever release some type of avatar content that costs MS points.

 

[mc866]

Originally posted by: R Nilla
I expect to see clothes and things unlocked through games, as that is a natural progression from unlocking gamer pics through games / achievements.

+1 I'm kinda hoping this is the way they would go with things, like unlocking a ninja suit from unlocking something in NG or a cog uni from a gears game, I think that would be pretty sweet.

 

[RedRooster]

I hope sports games unlock avatar equipment, that'd actually be kind of cool.

 

[StageLeft]

I cannot imagine paying for such a thing. I think it would be the pinacle, the true acme and paragon of a life ruined, thrown upon the rocks of despair to see a person spend money on making a virtual character look different.

 

[DaveSimmons]

There's no reason why Sony can't offer publisher-sponsored clothing for Home too, just like for MS miis.

Unless MS pays Bethesda $50 million for an exclusive on mii power armor DLC

 

[oznerol]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
There's no reason why Sony can't offer publisher-sponsored clothing for Home too, just like for MS miis.

Unless MS pays Bethesda $50 million for an exclusive on mii power armor DLC

Is your Home persona visible outside of the Home world or do you need to be in Home to see it?

 

[purbeast0]

Yea, and there is a 50Mb XBLA limit.

And 400pts will be the "regular" price for XBLA games.

And backwards compatibility will be a continuous work.

 

[R Nilla]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
I cannot imagine paying for such a thing. I think it would be the pinacle, the true acme and paragon of a life ruined, thrown upon the rocks of despair to see a person spend money on making a virtual character look different.

Is it really that much different than paying money to change the backgrounds for your video game console's interface? Or to change the picture on the virtual ID card for your video game account?

 

[tk149]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
I cannot imagine paying for such a thing. I think it would be the pinacle, the true acme and paragon of a life ruined, thrown upon the rocks of despair to see a person spend money on making a virtual character look different.

Second Life?

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: ducci

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
There's no reason why Sony can't offer publisher-sponsored clothing for Home too, just like for MS miis.

Unless MS pays Bethesda $50 million for an exclusive on mii power armor DLC

Is your Home persona visible outside of the Home world or do you need to be in Home to see it?

Beats me, I don't care enough about Home to have tried the beta yet. The concept seems almost as silly as Second Life. At least until I can get that power armor for my avatar . . .