Microsoft announced at E3 08 in July that the Xbox 360 would receive an update to its dashboard feature in the fall of 2008. Part of the announced redesign is to include customizable avatars that can indicate a users online or offline status, and even be imported into some games as playable characters. In other words, it’s a lot like the Nintendo Mii characters for the Nintendo Wii.

The avatars along with the new dashboard layout for use with the Xbox 360 are being developed by Rare. And Rares Head of Art, Lee Musgrave, spoke out against the criticism his company has received by Internet commentators who claim Rare is just ripping Nintendo off.

Musgrave stated in an episode of Eurogamer TV that the avatars were “an idea we had, even before Miis were part of the gaming scene, of putting these characters that you have an affinity with, not necessarily as part of the Xbox dash, but somewhere in the Xbox that you would play multiple games with, that you would have multiple experiences with that same character”.

In other words, he claims that they had thought of it before the Wii was released, and goes on to add that this wasn’t because of direction from Microsoft. Musgrave states that they have explored the possibility of making the avatars in the form of animals, or spore like creatures, or ultra real humans before deciding on their final design of slightly cartoony humans.

Chris Sutherland, Rares Producer, backed up Musgrave by stating they “had a project up and running that had avatars in them and the aim was always to have this component where you were able to customize your character and apply cloothing to them”.

Source: Eurogamer