Dead Space fans can choose from a variety of t-shirts, along with an Isaac outfit and a little model of the Ishimura, while sports types have a full range of official NBA and NCAA football jerseys.

Before you ask, yes, the sports gear is cheaper than the NFL stuff from a few months back.

[Avatar Marketplace]

You need to have "won" one in a Twitter promotion, and you can't of course actually play with the things, since they're purely decorative, but hey, for those hanging on every day for new of their arrival, quit hanging. Your codes will be in your inbox.

Reader JJkujo was kind enough to send us in a shot of his new, fluffy friend. Thanks!

"Avatar Individualized By Physical Characteristic," is what Microsoft is claiming. "Linking the avatar to a physical characteristic of a user provides leverage to provide incentives or constraints that can encourage good behavior (e.g., healthy behaviors, virtuous behaviors, etc.)," says the patent.

So therefore, if you're fat, your avatar will be fat - or vice versa. And so Microsoft proposes that your avatar's conditioning would be reflected in its capabilities within a game, or unlocking a budgeted amount of time to play, or just making the little guy look all buff and hawt.

As a parental control, its use is quite clear. For the individual gamer, it sounds to me like an opt-in thing, whereby if you've been feeling bad about all the Hot Pockets and three-hour gaming sessions, you turn on this feature. Sort of like fridge locks, noise reminders and other (in my opinion, abusive) gadgets from the dieting craze.

How is it going to know what the real you looks like? The patent offers that Microsoft would get the info through a "third-party health data collection repository," I guess to which the player belongs and links to his or her Xbox Live account. Or, says the filing "a real-time physiological sensor (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, blood glucose, peak flow, pedometer, etc.)" Yay! Sounds like more peripherals.

1Up, which spotted the filing, points out that Nintendo's already explored this to some extent in Wii Fit, where your Mii gets porky if the game decides you're overweight. In this case, Microsoft wants to link some sort of tangible benefit to a healthy, balanced lifestyle.

Those are honorable intentions, but given the butthurt that went up when Wii Fit started calling kids fat, I can't see this ending well. Just last night I screwed around with my avatar - which I always set to large size because, hey, I have a beer gut - and was appalled when I tried on the Vault 101 suit, which is not slimming at all. (My avatar normally wears an untucked golf shirt.) And that's with the existing body type templates. Before they do this Xbox Live should implement a "suck your gut in" button, like, click and hold the right thumbstick or something.

Microsoft Patents "Avatar Individualized By Physical Characteristic" System [1Up via HBG]

Sure, most of it is made up with the kind of stuff only marketing teams and graphic designers need worry about. Asset placement, fonts, that sort of thing.

But amidst all the practical stuff are some points like this, revealing not only Microsoft's underlying "vision" for the little guys, but the kind of restrictions they'll place on their use to ensure that "vision" is achieved. Some of them are understandable! Others, a little...odd. All interesting, however, so we figured we'd share.

- When Avatars are used in a group of three or more, at least one Avatar must be female.

- When Avatars are used in a group of three or more, consider including different ethnicities.

- When Avatars are used in groups of three or more, one of them should be facing forward and looking outward.

- Avatars must be playful and mischievous, not devious or inappropriate.

- Do not show Avatars with closed or blinking eyes.

- Do not show Avatars using any hand or body gestures other than those provided.

- Do not use an Avatar as the main message of a marketing piece.

- Do not show Avatars interacting with the Xbox 360 Sphere.

Like I said, odd. Where does one draw the line between "mischievous" and "devious"? And what's wrong with a sausage party?

The study, entitled "The Priming Effects of Avatars in Virtual Settings," more or less says that people don't have to self-select antisocial depictions of themselves to engage in antisocial behaviors. Just being told to play on the Dark Side in Jedi Knight II, or as a Klanketeer in another setting, encourages them to be a-holes. So you can imagine what that says about a person who creates the skeleton-faced, top-hatted all-black avatar with a tag like xXx_ScAbIEsDeM0n_XxX.

Before you get huffy, the study's author isn't singling out video games or avatars; they just comprise one environment that can also "prime" people to be louts and douchebags. Let me submit another: The 101 from the 87 to Mountain View at 8:25 a.m. on a weekday.

But yeah, as "no shit" findings go, it does sound rather obvious. You can read up on the rest of the study if you like.

What Does Your Video Game Avatar Say About You? [Daily Comet via Destructoid] [Pic via Something Awful]

The t-shirts and hoodies are predictably bland, but for our more cash-rich readers the in-game outfits may be too tempting to pass up. There's an Ezio outfit, and Altair outfit (both for 400MSP), and even a Da Vinci hang-glider there for you to just...stick at your feet.

There's also some DJ Hero stuff available, but...yeah.

[Assassin's Creed Marketplace]

Avatar item unlocks.... Awards given for people who get Achievements pulled from a series of related games... what do you think?

If the smell of polypropylene, and dyes that run off when you sweat on 'em make you nostalgic, Xbox Live Marketplace is selling avatar costumes. There are 16 costumes for 240 Microsoft points apiece, which translates to about $3, which is probably what skinflint Dad paid for those deathtraps Fletch and I wore.

Some getups, however, do not come with masks and or hats, which run another 80 points. The razor-blade apple and LSD-dipped tootsie pop are not available at this time.

Halloween Costumes [Xbox Live, via Hot Blooded Gaming]

Bowling said via his Twitter feed this weekend that he's "not sure we'll be doing any Avatar rewards, but we are making avatar items. With some free ones hopefully." Free ones!! That's the kind of Avatar thing I can see myself investing the time to download. Too bad (potentially) about the lack of Avatar rewards, as that's a nice little perk for the serious fan.

The Xbox Avatar Store now contains football jersey's for each of the thirty-two current NFL teams, each coming in both male and female versions, courtesy of Madden NFL 10. From the amazing Philadelphia Eagles to the even more amazing Pittsburgh Steelers, your avatar can show his or her pride for football teams from Pennsylvania for the low price of 320 Microsoft points, or $4.00 real-world money. I suppose you could buy jerseys representing other teams as well, but that simply doesn't make any sense at all to me. It's crazy talk.

Buy Your NFL Avatar Jersey Here [Xbox Live Marketplace via Major Nelson]

The name AvatArcade, despite its awkward camel-capping, is one of the better naming options being surveyed, according to details forwarded to Kotaku by a tipster. The others include Game Room, RetroCade, RetroGame, Game Preserve, Game Gallery, Tower of ROM, Tower of Game(s), Classics and Classics LIVE. Yes, Tower of ROM is far superior, but we just don't see that one sticking.

The survey info passed on to Kotaku doesn't offer much in the way of further details, but does indicate that publisher Atari will likely be one of the company's with a presence in the proposed space. The virtual arcade cabinets appear to feature playable copies of Atari's RealSports Baseball and Realsports Basketball, not to mention heavy Atari logo branding.

Looks like Intellivision games may also be on offer, as banners for Shark! Shark! and Star Strike hang in the same space. If those games are representative of the titles that would appear in the "AvatArcade," we're not sure what's so arcade-y about this.

The survey also hints that Microsoft may be charging for the Avatar-supported game room, asking surveyees what title would "compel" them to purchase the product.

We've checked in with Microsoft to see what they have to say.

Update: This is what they have to say: "Microsoft does not comment on rumors or speculation." I'm sure you never saw that coming.

Not that my friends don't look amazing right now, with their steampunk outfits and little remote-controlled toys and all that. I just think they'd look much snazzier decked out in full body armor with a helmet. Unfortunately that look will run you 480 Microsoft points, but can you really pay too much for fashion?

Probably.

New Mass Effect Avatar items [Major Nelson]

Happily, I then saw something else.

How's a man to take the news in front of his eyes last week that shows that Microsoft has made special signs to hype Xbox Avatars clothes and other purchasable knickknacks and has featured other blogs and not ours?

Two feelings flared within me. Relief at not being appropriated into the marketing machinery for Avatars competed with my urge to ask the Microsoft employees with whom I was dining to ask "What the hell?"

My Microsoft lunchmates swore Kotaku was not being ignored. They swore there had to be a napkin dispenser or a sign or something that showed that this site had not been forgotten by the team responsible for convincing Microsoft's own employees that the Avatar Marketplace is both amazing and spectacular.

So we left the fancy cafeteria at Microsoft's fancy new several-weeks-old offices in Redmond, Washington, down a hallway that seemed more like a stretch of indoor mall, past the bank, past the ski shop, past the AT&T Wireless store that doesn't sell iPhones, and into the lobby of Studio A, where, a few flights up, Kane still fights with Lynch.

Up we looked to see banners.

And more banners.

Bonus points if you can prove that it's your old comment that Microsoft in-house marketing turned into a giant banner.

Finally, here's a pic that'll give you a sense of the size of these things:

It's definitely a character-swap game for Easy Golf, as some guessed when the footage was released. The good news is that Easy Golf, by Barkers Crest Studio was a pretty damn fully featured game for an indie download, including six courses and a course editor.
Avatar Golf adds a multiplayer mode that accommodates eight players, and friends can join a round in progress. There are customizable weather effects and backgrounds. And, of course, you get to play as your avatar. It's 400 Microsoft points.

Playing it myself, the terrain effects are not terribly sophisticated and putting is a little too much on the easy side. Then again, this is a much more casual version of golf, designed to be played among friends.

The trial version is timed, so you'll be able to play a few holes before the game asks for an unlock.

Indie Games Featuring Avatars [360 Avatar, thanks Jim M.]

Charging money to make your avatar a walking advertisement? Sigh.

Anyway, just in case that doesn't bother you - or you have some leftover MS Points lying around - Microsoft have today released some Mass Effect clothing options for the 360's avatars, ranging from Mass Effect-themed t-shirts right through to full suits of in-game armour.

Announced during Gamescom and highlighted at the PlayStation blog, firmware 3.0 doesn't revolutionalize the way we navigate the PlayStation 3, but it does bring some welcome changes. The most prevalent of the changes is a status bar in the top right of the screen, which shows your avatar, your user icon, what you are up to, and a mail icon, in case you have messages waiting.

Changes will make the friends list more friendly, with messages from your friends now appearing in their respective profiles.

The games and video categories of the cross media bar will now feature shortcuts to the PlayStation Store, reflecting downloadable content and related items available.

Premium themes, as seen in the video below, are animated themes that make your PS3 a bit more lively.

The most puzzling update, for me at least, is the new free and premium avatars, which will be showing up in your status bar. What other uses will they have?

Update: Firmware 3.0 will be released on September 1st, according to Sony's PS3 Slim press release.

For a full list of updates, check out the PlayStation Blog, and watch the video below to see some of the new features coming in firmware 3.0.

PlayStation 3 Firmware (v3.00) Update [PlayStation Blog]

We dress in mere costumes when we control characters in our Xbox 360s. Michael Connell believes it's time for us to wear fashion — some of which came from poorer times.

Connell is the Microsoft-contracted designer behind two original fashion lines, offered, for pay, as part of the new Xbox 360 system update that goes live today. The freelance creative director whose professional experience includes modeling, designing Barbie-branded fashion and a stint as the design director of the Cranium line of games, has crafted clothing for the bodies of virtual men and women, to be worn by Xbox 360 Avatars.

Through Connell and Microsoft, gamers can today buy 1930s-era cuffed trousers ($1) or a pair of Steampunk metal goggles ($1) to adorn the virtual person who represents them on their Xbox 360 — and who appears on their Xbox Live friends lists.

The fashion offering might vex those gamers who don't see the sense of spending a dollar on a virtual pair of pants but Connell sees the introduction of the new lines as a promotion for what he fundamentally values about fashion: a way for us to say something about ourselves.

"The fashions [in video games] have mostly been driven by context," he told Kotaku in a phone interview to discuss the lines. "The context for this game is a war or a sci-fi war or what have you, so let's build fantasy characters. In other games it's based on World War II. So these are a set of characters and they're thought of as movie characters. It's more costume-based. But when you really start thinking about fashion ... my personal feeling about fashion is that it's always about expression."

It's self-expression that Connell hopes his work can further enable for Xbox gamers. "Once you see enough avatars, they kind of start to feel the same," he said, recalling the initial wave of Xbox Avatar fashion that has been available for the past nine months, while he's been designing the new lines. "The generic collection that we have out there currently doesn't really offer any individuality. Certainly it's a basics collection. but it's generic in the worst sense."

Today launches Connell's wearable antidote. In the new Avatar store on online-connected 360s, buried behind banners advertising BioShock and Halo fashions for Avatars and tucked behind new pages that sell Adidas and Quiksilver Avatar clothes, are the first of Connell's brand-free lines: Steampunk and the Depression-inspired Recessionista.

Steampunk was a no-brainer, part of an attempt to offer some clothes to the folks Connell described as "thought leaders." It's a big trend, with people melding styles from the 1800s with a fanciful addition of future technology. "We felt the community was so active that paying homage to this trend was pretty much a natural," Connell said.

Recessionista was a bigger leap, one that had to clear more skepticism in Microsoft before getting full support. That line from Connell is based on working-class clothing from the United States' worst economic slump in its history. It is a relevant inspiration, of course, because of the world's current economic woes. It may also be one of the first acknowledgments in video games of the biggest real-world news story of the past two years in video games, arriving only now in August 2009.

"I was thinking about making a statement, if you will, that even though this time of global recession, everything isn't bad." Connell said. "And in the 30s, in a time that was really bad, much worse than it is today, it wasn't all bad. There was fashion that was quite interesting. And this fashion wasn't the couture that was happening at the time. It was — what I'm trying to do — is more of a work fashion. [I hope] to kind of show that there are good things and we've been there and we'll get out. Clearly these are subliminal messages, but this is what I was inspired by. If you design a collection I think the most important thing is there needs to be heart and soul and direction."

On the Xbox 360, fashions are divided for male avatars and female avatars. The system doesn't allow for cross-dressing of gendered items. Other restrictions of color palette and memory limitations curtail the wildest fashions Connell could conceive. He can't adjust for fit, eliminating the ability to distinguish between, say, baggy pants and tight jeans. But within these strictures that Connell still sees opportunity: "I'm trying to do is encourage people to take risks and play with expressions. And play with where their boundaries are with fashion. Because right now the real expression that we have in this ecosystem is visual."

Connell doesn't set prices. But he's hopeful that people will find worth in dressing in some of the clothes he has crafted. The fact that he helped stitch some of the first paid hats and shirts on the Xbox 360 motivated him, he said, to make things that were top-flight, an aesthetic goal, not a commercial one. "Nobody has been playing with the idea that this is world domination through avatar apparel and making huge money," he said. "If we don't charge and it's free, how can we re-invest? There's significant time and money and capital that's being spent to actually bring these to market "

More fashion lines from Connell are coming. And he's paying attention to the response. "We're hoping we're going to get feedback and that's going to help us course-correct, improve and push the envelope on what it means to give expression through avatars."

Who thinks about what their characters wear when they play or browse an Xbox 360 dashboard? Wear what you will. Connell hopes it will mean something.

Now that the marketplace is live, we can see that there are clothing options available for a range of games, from Star Wars (the upcoming Republic Heroes) to BioShock to Splinter Cell.

You can see a few of these new items above and below, modelled by yours truly.

Microsoft released these shots today that show pretty much everything you'll be able to pay for, from designer gear to avatar cosplay, Gears of War-style.

Epic will also be giving serious Gears fans a chance to dress like their favorite Locust beast, a look that's still human, but with just enough alien to make it convincing.

Start saving up those Microsoft Points, kids. While Bleszinski and Fergusson didn't put a price on these new Avatar get ups, we have to imagine they'll cost you something.