Between developing and teasing us with the next Banjo-Kazooie and Viva Pinata, Rare has had time to lend Microsoft a hand in redesigning the recently unveiled New Xbox Experience, as Microsoft has tagged it. More specifically, Rare is responsible for the look of the Avatars which will be heavily tied into the Xbox LIVE service. In fact, we predict it won’t be long until people can take their virtual-selves fishing or skiing, as Program Manager Stacy says Avatars will be very easy for developers to include in their games. With 1 vs. 100 leading the way, there will be no doubt plenty to follow.

The number of outfits that people will be able to play dress up with will apparently be “limitless,” but one of the more interesting questions remains — will or will there not be game-specific outfits? We say ‘yes’ — if priced correctly, something like different armors from Gears of War or Mass Effect would probably fly off ‘the shelves’ at a rather rapid pace. Besides, taking away a source of revenue from third parties makes little sense.