Last night, while the majority of us were sleeping, Microsoft finally released part of the update that they’ve been chatting about since E3; and to be honest I am less than impressed by it. I will give them credit for putting in effort, but just like with the G.I. Joe video game I have to ask the question, ’what’s the point?”

And just like that game, the point is obviously to make money. Which is something that Microsoft will do hand over fist with their new Avatar Marketplace. Now, if you are having problems imaging what an Avatar Marketplace would look like, then imagine a virtual shopping mall for your little digital-selves. Virtual clothing stores full of brands like Adidas, Quiksilver, Roxy, and tokidoki are there to serve you; or if you’re like me, you can shop for clothing by style. To kick off the launch of the Avatar Marketplace, Microsoft is pimping full wardrobes inspired by the Steampunk and Recessionista styles.

You can also pick up clothing and props (like radio control cars or light-sabers for your Avatar) based on:

• BioShock 2
• Halo 3
• Halo: ODST
• Gears of War 2
• Fable II
• The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
• Splinter Cell Conviction
• Star Wars Clone The Wars: Republic Heroes

For around 400 Microsoft points you can even dress your avatars up as a supporting character from your favorite games. Some examples of this are below; on the left is a female COG from Gears of War, and on the right is an male ODST from Halo.

And if 400 Microsoft points is too steep of a price for virtual clothing, then you can pick up virtual shirts, shorts and hats (branded with makers from your favorite video games) for a lot less.

However, clothing from games are not the only things you can now buy in the new Marketplace. For the first time ever, full Xbox360 games are available for download. As of today, Canadian can buy and download:

1. Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed – released November 14, 2007
2. LucasArts’ LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga – released November 6, 2007
3. Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Vegas – released November 12, 2006
4. 2K Games’ BioShock – released August 21, 200
5. Microsoft’s Mass Effect – released November 20, 2007
6. Namco’s Ridge Racer 6 – released November 17, 2005
7. EA’s Burnout Paradise – released January 22, 2008
8. Disney’s Meet The Robinsons – released March 27, 2007
9. Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis – released May 23, 2006
10. Activision’s Call of Duty® 2 – released November 22, 2005
11. THQ’s MX vs. ATV Untamed – released December 17, 2007
12. SEGA’s SONIC THE HEDGEHOG – released November 14, 2006
13. Microsoft’s Viva Piñata 2: Trouble in Paradise – released September 2, 2008
14. EA’s Need for Speed Carbon – released October 31, 2006
15. Atari’s TEST DRIVE: UNLIMITED – released September 5, 2006
16. EA’s Fight Night Round 3 – released February 20, 2006
17. EA’s Need for Speed: Most Wanted – released November 11, 2005
18. Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion – released March 20, 2006
19. 2K’s Prey – released July 11, 2006
20. Microsoft’s Viva Piñata – released November 9, 2006

Note: The prices of these games range from $20 – $30 a piece, and all release dates listed are the original North American release dates of the Xbox360 version of the game.

Another new feature of this update is that the movie section of Xbox Live has a little virtual movie theater for your avatars to sit and watch films in. The avatars will get the first row and you get the second. The hook of the theater is that your avatars can interact in it in the same way they would in something like 1 vs 100 Live. Now their emotional range may be as small as their tiny digital hearts, but they can toss popcorn at the screen; and we all have fond memories of doing that in our youth.

On the other hand, now that I’ve grown up, and as Ken Rodney pointed out on last week’s show now that I “am dead inside”; I have to wonder if putting a bunch of avatars in front of a film is a good idea? This is mostly because I would want to watch that film; and having people moving around or toss popcorn at a screen is just as annoying now as it was last Monday while people were walking up and down the theater isles during the viewing of G.I. Joe that I went to.

The final new feature is organization, and in my opinion it’s the most useful thing in this update.  You can now sort your friends list by Gamertag, status and activity; making it easier to find the friends you want at the time you want. There are also new options for viewing your Achievements and progress, improved matchmaking capabilities, and user ratings were also added. User ratings allow anyone to award content on XBL with a score out of 5. That rating is then added to a communal score to create user generated content reviews. This in theory can make it easier to find the cooler things on XBL that can sometimes get lost among the ocean of content.

Oh and in case you’re wondering, Microsoft hasn’t forgotten about adding Last.fm, facebook, and twitter to your Xbox360. Those should come in the next update scheduled for sometime later this fall, and according to Craig Flanagan of Xbox Canada (during our June 7th Show/E3 wrap up show) we Canadians should be able to download full TV shows around the same time.

In the end, I am not going to give this a rating because this is not the finished product. This is simply the first phase of a long update process that will continue in the fall. However, I am obviously not that impressed with what I have seen so far. I feel no demand for the Games on Demand. The movie theater is just a bad idea in my mind. The organization is a nice addition, but I have never found it that hard to find stuff on XBL before. And finally the Avatar Marketplace is just there to make Microsoft more money, but I can’t fault them for that one. If they can provide digital clothing for the avatars, and people are willing to pay money for it, then who am I to boo that? Heck, I predict that the Avatar Marketplace will see the heaviest traffic of any feature in this update.

But what about you guys? How do you like these new changes?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 12th, 2009 at 12:35 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.