When everyone first saw the Avatars that go with Microsoft’s new cosmetic make-over of the 360’s interface, it was a natural assumption that the they could have been inspired by the Wii’s Mii’s. Right? Well, not so fast bucko! Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE boss John Schappert, while no doubt trying to deflect some of that “MiiToo” talk that’s been going around, explained to MCV that incorporating Avatars was a “logical extension” of what Microsoft has built so far.

“It’d be remiss to say that we don’t enjoy playing on the other systems and we have a lot of respect for the work that Miyamoto-san and Nintendo do,” remarked Schappert, warming up for a “but,” “but I think it’s a logical extension of our Gamercard, Gamertag and Achievements.”

“People want to personlise their Gamertag and so when we look to the future and think about building a brand new Xbox experience, Avatars is a logical extension of that innovation. I think it’s another avenue of self-expression and there are a lot of opportunities here for consumers,” he explained.

So there we have it. Now somebody needs to break the news to Miyamoto, considering he was quite flattered by Avatars.