Avatar Accessories Wish List

Written by: Alex Shaw

FAO Rare

It's been three months now guys. I think it's time for a plain black T-Shirt! Let me first start by saying that I love my avatar. Aside from a head so freakishly large that if he's lived in the middle ages he'd have been killed as a witch, he's a pretty cool guy.

But there are definitely some recurring themes in the growing list of avatar clothing and accessories which leave me cold.

1. Camp, colourful and silly clothing.
2. Stupid outlandish hairstyles (but no unusual hair colours)
3. Tacky gangsta-wannabe clothing.
4. A decided lack of game-related clothing (aside from the Xbox T-Shirts and a vaguely GTA-flavoured recent package.)

Now most days I like to Daniel Craig it (Grey fitted T-Shirt and dark blue worn jeans). No joy on the grey. In fact even black and white are off the menu. Black Tees involve monkey faces, heavy metal imagery or a great big dollar sign on a gold chain. But what if you aren't a teenage punk, a metal-head or a pimp with his eyes on a prime piece of bling?

The other extreme is also available. You can dress like a darling little preppy with golfing pants, tie and blazer combo's and turtleneck/jacket ensemble's that would make you a truly punchable figure as you exited the dressing room.

But where are the clothes for real people?

More to the point, where are those game-related kits that we've been dreaming of?

1. Gears of War armour
2. Halo armour
3. Fable getup
4. Burnout racing leathers
5. Dead Space suits
6. Street fighter karate Gi's
7. Hitman black suits with red ties and black gloves
8. Fallout 3 Brotherhood of Steel power armour
9. Mirror's Edge Faith outfit (for the ladies)
10. Tomb Raider outfits

I mean the marketing pretty much writes itself. The pitfalls (everyone wearing the same boring T-Shirt, or 90% of Live users dressed as Master Chief) simply aren't as perilous as the simple fact that I can't be alone in the settling for rather than choosing of my outfit.

On a podcast I listened to last year, someone said they had visited Rare and asked "Oh, you can change the colour on that T-Shirt, right?" and his guide had answered; "Hmm... that's a good idea." That was two weeks before NXE launched. You've had time enough. Knock Sony and Nintendo on their asses with a dazzling array of free clothing. Not just once every so often, every week. Make us ache from the choice of what awesome outfit to kit out in next. While it reaps no cash reward (like 49 cents for a cowboy hat), the ultimate end will be a happier and more diverse crowd of XBL users.

Make it happen in 09.

Sincerely

Alex Shaw
Digital Cowboys