Jess Ragan Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/15/source-a...-miis-and-home/ In the grand tradition of renaming PC DOS to MS-DOS, taking the Lisa/Macintosh GUI and renaming it Windows, and taking Mosiac and renaming it Internet Explorer (without paying for it), Microsoft has hijacked a great idea from another company and tried to make it their own. This time it's Nintendo's Miis. Microsoft's answer to the Miis are simply known as "avatars" and look like a halfway point between Nintendo's bobbleheads and the photorealistic characters in Playstation's upcoming Home service. What do you think? This strikes me as just a little desperate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesD Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 It might be a ripoff of Nintendo... if Nintendo hadn't ripped off the idea from other places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari5200 Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 It might be a ripoff of Nintendo... if Nintendo hadn't ripped off the idea from other places. exactly...lol. Maybe if the graphics are decent on them I don't know. I hate the Mii's I cannot stand them what so ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Helmet Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 I think its pretty cool actually Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 (edited) My impression is they are just animated avatars that you can use in place of a gamerpic. I'm sure it's a desperation act Jess. The Xbox 360 outsells the Wii and the PS3 in software sales so MS had to do something. Animated avatars sounds like that something...doesn't it? What do I think? I think your excuses to rag on MS are getting lamer and lamer. Edited June 16, 2008 by moycon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari5200 Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 my Yahoo mail has an animated avatar, maybe Yahoo is copying Nintendo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emehr Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Seriously though, has Microsoft ever done anything to make anyone go, "Wow, now *that's* something that hasn't been done before!". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+remowilliams Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Seriously though, has Microsoft ever done anything to make anyone go, "Wow, now *that's* something that hasn't been done before!". Yes. Bob. I've noticed that the Wii uses electricity and so does the 360. Hmmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Kai Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 (edited) If only Nintendo would copy everyone elses good games, then that Wii would be worth more than a passing glance. Edited June 16, 2008 by Gunstarhero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 If only Nintendo would copy everyone elses good games, then that Wii would be worth more than a passing glance. Well, I'm looking forward to The Condiut. As for the Avatars... Nintendo hasn't done a whole lot with the Miis anyway. Seems kinda dumb to copy something that isn't all that popular to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Kai Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 If only Nintendo would copy everyone elses good games, then that Wii would be worth more than a passing glance. Well, I'm looking forward to The Condiut. As for the Avatars... Nintendo hasn't done a whole lot with the Miis anyway. Seems kinda dumb to copy something that isn't all that popular to begin with. I agree, I'm not sure that this is something that the general 360 userbase even cares about. This seems like mismarketing to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PressureCooker2600 Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 I'll stick with my gamer pic. Nothing describes me better than Pip Boy from the Fallout series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 (edited) I agree, I'm not sure that this is something that the general 360 userbase even cares about. This seems like mismarketing to me. I don't think it's mismarketing. How many people here use animated avatars? Look around at other forums. I don't have an exact number of people that use them, but plenty of people like animation. Hell I'd try one out as long as it's free. It's something some people like and it's an easy thing to offer. If wont cause MS stock to jump up or anything, but I'll bet that wasn't the plan going into this. The plan probably went like this.... Big Wig : "I see here in this report some members on the Xbox.com forums have expressed an interest in animated gamerpics how hard would that be to make happen?" Employee : "Not hard at all" Big Wig : "Make it so" Games where you design a character to your specifications and then take that character and interact online or play a game with that character have been around before the Wii was even a thought and way before Sony ever came up with Home (Which sounds basically like any MMORPG lobby area I've ever heard of). Anyone here ever play a MMORPG? Saying that Nintendo came up with this idea to begin with and that anyone is copying them is somewhat misleading if you ask me. Edited June 17, 2008 by moycon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cimerians Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Lets really look at the situation. Microsoft is trying to promote the Xbox 360 as a family gaming console. This is their marketing strategy for this year. They are simply trying to show people that buying a 360 over the WII is a better idea. We'll see if this works. I for one think it will not for the most part. In a way it doesnt matter as they have enough power to do what they wish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannon Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 PC DOS/MS-DOS was a joint relationship between MS and IBM. IBM would release one version and then mickeysoft would do the next version. Lisa/Macintosh originated at Xerox, not Apple. Same with the mouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mendon Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 I'm sure that MS is copying the Mii. But the difference between Nintendo and MS in approaching the use of the animated avatar is that MS said "How can we make money off of it???" And you just know that MS will give you their avatar for free but then sell you all kinds of clothing, bling, accessories, hair styles, etc to make your avatar "personalized". Anyone that buys gamerpic's and theme's (and there are a lot) is going to jump all over MS avatars. There will be Master Chief's, Bartman's, South Park Kenny's, Snoop Dog's, Predator's, Eli Manning's, and many other avatars running rampant around XBL in the near future. And all will come with a price. And MS will be smiling, smiling, smiling. Mendon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari5200 Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 (edited) They are simply trying to show people that buying a 360 over the WII is a better idea. they don't need Mii knock off's to do that. Mendon. Who cares. honestly. companies are out there to make money. So if your business, if you have a job, wanted to do something free, but sold out other components to the free thing, you would be opposed?, knowing that the success could be tied to your financial well being if it does good, or goes under??? Or are you just opposed because it's Microsoft? And if Nintendo wanted to do this, you'd be fine correct? Nobody is putting a gun to anybodies head demanding them to buy anything. And so what if the 360 has avatars, f*cking email has avatars now, what the hell is the big deal, there's not a whole lot of anything online anymore that doesn't offer avatars. Even fricking DS games can have "avatars", ala Mario kart DS, and Portrait of Ruin, like they are necessary to the game. Edited June 17, 2008 by Atari5200 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mendon Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Mendon. Who cares. honestly. companies are out there to make money. So if your business, if you have a job, wanted to do something free, but sold out other components to the free thing, you would be opposed?, knowing that the success could be tied to your financial well being if it does good, or goes under??? Or are you just opposed because it's Microsoft? And if Nintendo wanted to do this, you'd be fine correct? Nobody is putting a gun to anybodies head demanding them to buy anything. And so what if the 360 has avatars, f*cking email has avatars now, what the hell is the big deal, there's not a whole lot of anything online anymore that doesn't offer avatars. Even fricking DS games can have "avatars", ala Mario kart DS, and Portrait of Ruin, like they are necessary to the game. Oh, I agree. Every company has the primary goal of making money. And almost every product, whether its a car or TV or video game or hamburger or whatever, is a copy of another product. And if people want to spend money on gamerpic's, themes, avatars, or whatever its their money and more power to them to spend it on what they want. And Nintendo is too busy pumping out various LE DS handhelds to even think about making money off of something like Mii's. I was just making an observation about what I believe MS will do with the avatars. Just an observation.... sort of like what you do in the Nintendo forums. Mendon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsiddall Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 I'll stick with my gamer pic. Nothing describes me better than Pip Boy from the Fallout series. Actually, your icon is known as "Vault Boy"...trust me wiki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari5200 Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 (edited) Mendon. Who cares. honestly. companies are out there to make money. So if your business, if you have a job, wanted to do something free, but sold out other components to the free thing, you would be opposed?, knowing that the success could be tied to your financial well being if it does good, or goes under??? Or are you just opposed because it's Microsoft? And if Nintendo wanted to do this, you'd be fine correct? Nobody is putting a gun to anybodies head demanding them to buy anything. And so what if the 360 has avatars, f*cking email has avatars now, what the hell is the big deal, there's not a whole lot of anything online anymore that doesn't offer avatars. Even fricking DS games can have "avatars", ala Mario kart DS, and Portrait of Ruin, like they are necessary to the game. Oh, I agree. Every company has the primary goal of making money. And almost every product, whether its a car or TV or video game or hamburger or whatever, is a copy of another product. And if people want to spend money on gamerpic's, themes, avatars, or whatever its their money and more power to them to spend it on what they want. And Nintendo is too busy pumping out various LE DS handhelds to even think about making money off of something like Mii's. I was just making an observation about what I believe MS will do with the avatars. Just an observation.... sort of like what you do in the Nintendo forums. Mendon Yeah, but I just have to ask, because this is typical response to situations like this. Especially when the first line of your post is "I'm sure that MS is copying the Mii. " are you sure? It's a direct carbon copy eh? Maybe Nintendo was copying the Sidewinder when they developed the Wii-mote. Would you be fine if Nintendo released a microphone for the Wii and charged $5 a month for a chat service? Plus being in the type of business I am in, I do get offended when people get the "how dare they charge people" attitude or "how dare a company make money" regardless if it's Nintendo or Microsoft. Trust me, if this would have been a 360 fan saying this about the Wii, I would be defending the Wii as well. If they want to charge, so be it, doesn't mean I have to buy. Edited June 19, 2008 by Atari5200 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PressureCooker2600 Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 I'll stick with my gamer pic. Nothing describes me better than Pip Boy from the Fallout series. Actually, your icon is known as "Vault Boy"...trust me wiki Well, lick my balls and call me Shirley. I've always called him Pip Boy...since that was the name of the little PDA-thingie the Vault Dweller carried around and that was it's mascot. I'll stick with Pip Boy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mendon Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 (edited) Yeah, but I just have to ask, because this is typical response to situations like this. Especially when the first line of your post is "I'm sure that MS is copying the Mii. " are you sure? It's a direct carbon copy eh? Maybe Nintendo was copying the Sidewinder when they developed the Wii-mote. I really don't understand why you are so hung up on my copying statement. I said "I'm sure that MS is copying the Mii". I didn't say "I'm sure that MS is copying the Mii and MS is a despicable, worthless, leech of a company for doing so". If MS offers animated avatars that are incorporated into gameplay like Mii's are, then there is no doubt in my mind that MS got the idea from Nintendo's use of it. Just like there is no doubt in my mind that Sony got the idea of Trophy's from Xbox Achievements. Or Nintendo got their WiiWare idea from offerings on XBLA. Or any of a dozen or so other examples I could give. They ALL copy idea's from each other. Elias Bros. came out with a unique hamburger many years ago that they called the Big Boy. McDonalds soon followed with a hamburger called the Big Mac. A copy? You betcha! Proctor and Gamble came out with uniform shaped potato chips (whether they are actually chips is open to debate, though) in a can-type container and called them Pringles. Lays soon followed with uniform potato chips in a plastic can and called them Stax. A copy? Absolutely. Every company copies products and ideas. That doesn't make the copier an evil company. And I never said it did. I stand by my original post, which was a response to the questions put forth by Jess: 1) if MS uses an animated avatar and incorporates it into console gameplay within various games, then they got the idea of this from Mii's. 2) if MS offers animated avatar's, then they will also attempt to sell all sorts of "accessories" so that you can personalize your avatar. Now if you wish to interpret those comments as an attack by me on MS, or a "How dare they" rant, then feel free to continue to do so. But trust me, when I want to go on a rant about MS and/or their business practices, I won't mince or conceal words. Mendon Edited June 20, 2008 by Mendon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari5200 Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 (edited) because you are stating it as fact, that is my problem. You specifically stated "I'M SURE MS IS COPYING THE MII" not " I THINK MS IS COPYING THE MII" or "MS MIGHT BE COPYING THE MII" nnnnoooo, you are absolutely sure they are copying the Mii. If you are sure, post how you know this as fact. Post how you know EXACTLY how the MS avatars will be used, please. The point is you are not sure, unless you are on the MS team developing them, but I can say with confidence based on your posts that you are not. My main problem is not with the avatars, but the comments you have about "how dare companies make money of of something" That's my problem, and as I've already stated, that is one of very few things that offends me. Plus you never did answer my question that if Nintendo came out with a microphone for voice chat and then said that the service would be $5 a month, would that be ok? Edited June 20, 2008 by Atari5200 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Who cares who got what idea from where? Like I said having gamer created characters is nothing new. Just look at it as all 3 of them (MS , Nintedo, Sony) took the idea from the MM0RPGs. That is a gamer created character that you can move around and play games with. I'm sure MS saw that they were popular on the Wii and that Sony's home was coming soon (maybe) and wanted a version of there own. It's not worth fussing over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PressureCooker2600 Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 It's not worth fussing over. Nope.....let's just chill and play a nice game of Pac-Man. Now if MS tries to copyright the name 'avatar'........then I would have a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.