Microsoft Avatar Store Says to Heck with Economic Hardship, Spend Real Money on Fake Stuff

Struggling to make ends meet in a rough economy? Maybe you lost a decent chunk of chain on the stock market, or maybe your hours have been cut by your employer. Regardless of your real world dilemma, Microsoft has got just the thing for you! Spend real money on virtual stuff for your virtual self this spring when they launch their official Avatar Store!

Rent shment. Having a roof over your head won’t matter the least bit if your virtual counterpart isn’t pimped out in the latest fashions. Who needs three square meals when you could spend that extra cash on a set of fictitious wheels!

Xbox LIVE EMEA product manager, Robin Burrowes, had the following to say about the company’s big picture plans for avatar enhancement:

“The plan of record will be to launch a more extensive Avatar Store from spring time onwards next year, and that store in theory would have branded content in there, game publisher IP stuff in there as well.” Adding that the pricing structure is still “under discussion.”

Holy smokes! Nike just released the new virtual Air Jordans. If I don’t buy them all the other avatar versions of my friends will laugh at me and call me names. Sorry, I’m just not a big supporter of the push to express your virtual self at the expense of real world means.

Some may argue this is no different than spending boat loads of cash on WoW gold, but I disagree. The majority of people dishing out dollars for currency in games like World of Warcraft are doing so to offset the time commitment, obtain improved statistical gear, and fund game progression. Blowing your paycheck on a digital representation of a Gucci bag just doesn’t seem like a wise decision.

Afterthought: Is this really the direction we need to be going in? Would you really spend your hard earned money on virtual crap?

Source: videogamer.com (via: scrawlfx.com)

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  • http://www.awayfromkeyboard.guildcafe.com John Landis

    It’s all entertainment anyway. I mean, people already spend money on the gamerpics on XBL anyway, so what’s the difference? What’s the difference on this and buying ringtones for your phone. It’s your money, spend it how you want. And besides, Microsoft’s stocks are down to, so spending money on their stuff will help the economy. Be a patriot and consume, ya bastards.

  • RotNRollHunter

    yeah what the fat guy said, we need to “consume” our asses off on digital BS. I’m only payin’ $8 a month and $60 a game.

  • http://www.awayfromkeyboard.guildcafe.com John Landis

    That’s your fault. Nobody is making you spend that money. I don’t understand people complaining about the cost of entertainment goods. If you can’t fucking afford it, go without. I haven’t been to a movie theater in almost a year because it just isn’t worth the cost of going. I’ll wait for the movie to come out on dvd and rent it for half the price that it would have cost me to see the movie alone. That saves me at least twelve bucks, because I’m not paying for myself and my wife to get tickets to the movie.

    If sixty bucks a game is too expensive for you, wait to find the game cheaper. Either buy it pre-owned or when the price goes down after a few months. Yes, it means you’ll have to wait, but that’s the price you pay to save some money. As far as XBL, if eight bucks a month is too expensive, quit. You’d save money in the long run by signing up for a year, that’s only around fifty bucks right there and cheaper in the long run.

    In the mean time, if you don’t like the cost of things you’re paying for, stop paying for them. As I said before, this is nothing different than what Microsoft is doing now. They already charge for themes and gamerpics. There are free ones out there, and I’m sure that things will basically be the same. What I find the most humorous is that people are saying they’re not going to use the avatars anyway because they’re so cutesy looking, and yet they’re bitching that Microsoft is going to try and make money off of them. You don’t have to use the damned things at all, you can still continue to use your gamerpic. Then you won’t have to pay two dollars for a GoW 2 tee shirt. You can pay two dollars for a GoW2 gamerpic instead.

    As a side note, I was half joking about the “consuming to help the economy” thing and I don’t appreciate being called “the fat guy”. If you want to get personal like that, take it somewhere else, fuckhead.

  • horngreen

    Well I don’t blame them for selling this junk for cash. If people with part with money for a fake Tshirt for their fake digital persona then that’s fine. Hell I think people who pay to get ringtones for a fucking phone are idiots so you can imagine how I feel about paying for virtual clothes. A fool and his money soon part.

  • http://www.ripten.com Chad Lakkis

    Hey now. No name calling. That said, I support the idea of customization but I don’t think we should have to pay real money for it. Rather I think we should have the ability to design our own stuff and upload it if we choose to do so.

  • The Whaler

    I wouldnt pay for it, but like Landis said we dont have to pay for it if we dont want it. Even though I find it kinda ridiculous to buy into an avatar.
    :/